UNIVERSITY  OF  CALIFORNIA  PUBLICATIONS. 


COLLEGE  OF  AGRICULTURE. 

AGRICULTURAL  EXPERIMENT  STATION. 


THE  CALIFORNIA  SUGAR  INDUSTRY. 


PAET  I. 


HISTORICAL  AND  GENERAL. 


By  GEORGE  W.  SHAW. 


BULLETIN  No.  149. 

(Berkeley,  May,  1903.) 


SACRAMENTO: 
w.  w.  shannon,    :    :    :    :    :    superintendent  state  printing 

1903. 


BENJAMIN  IDE  WHEELER,  Ph.D.,  LL.D.,  President  o]  the  University. 

EXPERIMENT  STATION  STAFF. 

E.  W.  HILGARD,  Ph.D.,  LL.D.,  Director  and  Chemist. 

E.  J.  WICKSON,  M.A.,  Horticulturist,  and  Superintendent  of  Central  Station  Grounds. 

W.  A.  SETCHELL,  Ph.D.,  Botanist. 

ELWOOD  MEAD,  M.S.,  C.E.,  Irrigation  Engineer. 

R.  H.  LOUGHRIDGE,  Ph.D.,  Agricultural  Geologist  and  Soil  Physicist.    (Soils  and  Alkali.) 

C.  W.  WOODWORTH,  M.S.,  Entomologist. 

M.  E.  JAFFA,  M.S.,  Assistant  Chemist.    (Foods,  Fertilizers.) 

G.  W.  SHAW,  M.A.,  Ph.D..  Assistant  Chemist.     (Soils,  Beet-Sugar.) 

GEORGE  E.  COLBY,  M.S.,  Assistant  Chemist.    (Fruits,  Waters,  Insecticides.) 

RALPH  E.  SMITH,  B.S.,  Plant  Pathologist. 

A.  R.  WARD,  B.S.A.,  D.V.M.,  Veterinarian,  Bacteriologist. 

E.  H.  TWIGHT,  B.Sc,  Diplome  E. A.M.,  Viticultunst. 

E.  W.  MAJOR,  B.Agr.,  Dairy  Husbandry. 

A.  V.  STUBENRAUCH,  M.S.,  Assistant  Horticulturist  and  Superintendent  of  Substations. 

WARREN  T.  CLARKE,  Assistant  Field  Entomologist. 

H.  M.  HALL,  M.S.,  Assistant  Botanist. 

C.  A.  TRIEBEL,  Ph.G.,  Student  Assistant  in  Agricultural  Laboratory. 

C.  A.  COLMORE,  B.S.,  Clerk  to  the  Director. 

EMIL  KELLNER,  Foreman  of  Central  Station  Grounds. 


JOHN  TUOHY,  Patron,  ) 

J-  Tulare  Substation,  Tulare. 
JULIUS  FORRER,  Foreman,  ) 

R.  C.  RUST,  Patron,  ) 

>  Foothill  Substation,  Jackson. 
JOHN  H.  BARBER,  Foreman,  \ 

S.  D.  MERK,  Patron, 

J.  H.  OOLEY,  Workman  in  charge 


y   Coast  Range  Substation,  Paso  Robles. 


v  Southern  California  Substation,   < 
J.  W.  MILLS,  Foreman,      )  (  Ontario. 


3.  N.  ANDROUS,  Patron,  )    a_^_  „__,„ tm  a„Kt,+„„_      (  Pomona. 

J.  W.  MILLS,  Foreman,       ) 
V.  C.  RICHARDS,  Patron, 
T.  L.  BOHLENDER, 
ROY  JONES,  Patron, 


,    Forestry  Station,  Chico. 
T.  L.  BOHLENDER,  in  charge,  ' 


Forestry  Station,  Santa  Monica. 
WM.  SHUTT,  Foreman,  ' 


The  Station  publications  (Reports  and  Bulletins)  will  be  sent  to  any 
citizen  of  the  State  on  application,  so  long  as  available. 


TABLE  OF  CONTENTS. 


Page. 

INTRODUCTION .. ... 5 

PRESENT  MAGNITUDE  OF  THE  SUGAR  INDUSTRY  IN  CALIFORNIA 7 

Money  Value  of  the  Product  Compared  with  Other  Products 7 

List  of  Factories,  Location,  Capacity,  and  Money  Invested 8 

THE  EARLY  PERIOD  OF  THE  INDUSTRY— 1857-1880 . ._  8 

The  Pioneer  Factory 8 

Early  Efforts  to  Crush  the  Industry 10 

The  Soquel  Factory ..  ... 11 

The  Isleton  Factory _ ...  11 

The  Standard  Sugar  Refining  Company 12 

THE  DORMANT  PERIOD— 1880-1887 ...'. 12 

Table  Showing  Field  Results  at  Alvarado  Factory 13 

Early  Attempts  to  Dry  Sugar  Beets .. 15 

THE  MODERN  PERIOD— 1888-1902 17 

Results  at  Alvarado 18 

Table  of  statistics 20 

The  Watsonville  Factory  . .  .. 21 

Table  of  statistics .m ._ 22 

The  Chino  Factory 24 

Table  of  statistics 28 

The  Los  Alamitos  Factory ...   29 

Table  of  statistics 29 

The  Crockett  Factory 32 

Results  in  1900,1901 32 

The  Oxnard  Factory 34 

Soils,  irrigation 37 

Table  of  statistics 39 

The  Salinas  Factory 39 

The  Betteravia  Factory _ 44 

GENERAL  CONSIDERATION  OF  THE  SUGAR  INDUSTRY... 46 

Advantages  Accruing  from  Beet  Culture 46 

A  Review  of  the  1901  Campaign,  and  Statistics 47 

The  Cost  of  Manufacture 50 

What  California  Can  Do  in  Beet  Sugar _ 53 


ILLUSTRATIONS. 


Page. 

PHOTOS  OF  E.  H.  DYER  AND  P.  0.  SPRECKELS  6 

ORIGINAL  ALVARADO  SUGAR  FACTORY 9 

THE  ISLETON  SUGAR  FACTORY 9 

ALVARADO  BEET-SUGAR  FACTORY 19 

WATSONVILLE   FACTORY 23 

CHINO  FACTORY ._ 25 

INTERIOR  OF  CHINO  FACTORY,  SHOWING  DIFFUSION  BATTERY 26 

LOS  ALAMITOS  FACTORY 30 

CROCKETT  FACTORY 33 

OXNARD  FACTORY 34 

ARTESIAN  WELL  AT  OXNARD  35 

VIEWS  IN  THE  INTERIOR  OP  OXNARD  FACTORY 36 

INTERIOR  OF  OXNARD  FACTORY 38 

SPRECKELS  SUGAR  FACTORY  AT  SALINAS  ..- 41 

BETTEUAVIA   FACTORY,  SANTA   MARIA  VALLEY..    44 


INTRODUCTION. 


Generally  favored  by  nature  with  economic  conditions  adapted  to  the 
production  of  a  high-grade  sugar  beet  and  to  the  successful  extraction  of 
the  sugar  from  it,  still  California  has  not  held  its  position  as  the  largest 
producer  of  beet  sugar  in  the  United  States,  for  this  year  she  will  be 
outranked  in  the  amount  of  sugar  produced  by  Michigan,  where  the 
industry  is  but  five  years  old,  and  wThich  State  has  natural  conditions 
far  less  adapted  to  the  industry,  and  notwithstanding  California  has 
more  acres  well  adapted  to  the  industry  than  any  other  State  in  the 
Union  and  has  had  a  third  of  a  century  of  experience. 

Under  the  running  title,  "  The  California  Sugar  Industry,"  it  is  pro- 
posed to  review  the  conditions  as  they  exist  in  the  State  to-day  from 
both  the  manufacturing  and  the  agricultural  standpoint,  and  to  discuss 
such  experimental  work  bearing  upon  this  industry  as  has  been  and 
may  be  undertaken  by  this  Experiment  Station. 

This  first  number  of  the  series  is  naturally  historical  in  a  large 
measure.  Since  California  is  the  mother  State  of  the  industry,  it  is 
fitting  that  its  early  history  should  be  recorded  in  some  connected 
manner  that  it  may  be  easily  accessible.  Part  I  also  presents  statistical 
matter  of  much  value  to  manufacturers  and  others  who  may  be  study- 
ing the  subject  with  reference  to  the  establishment  of  factories.  This 
is  particularly  true  as  the  periods  covered  by  the  reports  are  the  longest 
on  record  in  this  country  and  cover  a  great  variety  of  soils  and  climate. 

Part  II  will  deal  mainly  with  a  review  of  the  present  agricultural 
conditions  and  practices,  and  suggestions  for  improving  the  same 
deduced  from  observations  in  the  field  and  laboratory. 

The  writer  desires  to  acknowledge  the  courtesy  of  the  sugar  companies 
in  supplying  the  basal  figures  from  which  the  tables  have  been  computed. 


E.    H.   DYER, 
Father  of  the  Beet-Sugar  Industry. 


'*mz 


P.   C.   SPRECKELS. 


THE  CALIFORNIA  SUGAR  INDUSTRY. 


PART  I.    HISTORICAL  AND  GENERAL. 


California  was  the  first  of  the  United  States  to  successfully  manu- 
facture beet  sugar  upon  a  commercial  scale.  She  has  placed  beet  sugar 
upon  the  market  for  the  past  thirty-three  years.  Within  her  borders  is 
located  not  only  the  pioneer  beet-sugar  factory  of  this  country,  but  also 
one  of  the  largest  factories  in  the  world,  both  of  which  are  in  successful 
operation  this  year.  California  leads  in  the  annual  production  of  beet 
sugar,  yet  comparatively  few  people  outside  of  the  immediate  neighbor- 
hood of  the  beet-growing  sections  have  any  adequate  conception  of  the 
present  status  of  the  industry. 

The  present  localities  in  which  beets  are  produced  for  sugar  purposes 
extend  from  the  San  Franciscan  region  on  the  north,  along  the  coast 
counties,  to  San  Bernardino  County  on  the  south.  Within  this  area  some 
60,000  acres  are  devoted  to  sugar-beet  growing,  the  product  from  which, 
under  favorable  conditions,  represents  an  annual  money  value  exceeding 
$6,000,000,  assuming  the  average  price  to  be  4-|  cents  per  pound. 

The  relative  importance  of  the  industry,  as  compared  with  a  few  of 
the  other  leading  products,  may  be  seen  from  the  following  table,  taking 
the  reports  of  1902  as  the  basis  : 

Pounds.  Value. 

(at  average  price.) 

Butter _ 31,528,000  $6,305,600 

Potatoes 24000,000  2,760,000 

Citrus  fruits.... 450,000,000  10,000,000 

Raisins 96,000,000  5,280,000 

Hops... 10,670,000  1,493,800 

Beetsugar 160,000,000  6,800,000 

Beans 115,000,000  4,600,000 

Wool 25,835,700  3,100,000 

Wheat.... 18,530,000  12,452,000 

Prunes . 150,000,000  6,000,000 

Thus  it  will  be  seen  that  the  value  of  the  beet  sugar  produced  in  the 
State  practically  equals  the  value  of  the  butter  product  and  of  the  prune 
crop;  equals  about  three  fifths  of  the  value  of  the  citrus  fruits;  more 
than  doubles  the  value  of  the  potato  crop;  surpasses  the  value  of  the 


b  UNIVERSITY    OF   CALIFORNIA EXPERIMENT    STATION. 

raisin  crop  by  $1,000,000,  and  the  bean  crop  by  $2,000,000;  and  equals 
one  half  the  value  of  the  wheat  crop. 

Factories. — Eight  factories  are  engaged  in  the  production  of  this 
sugar,  the  location,  year  of  establishment,  and  the  capacity  of  each  being 
shown  in  the  following  table  : 

Established         Locality.  County.  Operated  by—  Capacity. 

in —  (Tons,  -24  hrs.) 


Alvarado1 Alameda Alameda  Sugar  Co 900 

1888 Watson  ville2..  Santa  Cruz Spreckels  Sugar  Co 1,000 

1891  Chino3  ._ San  Bernardino  .American  Beet  Sugar  Co 750 

1897 Los  Alamitos4  .Orange Los  Alamitos  Sugar  Co 700 

1898.. Crockett5 Contra  Costa Calif,  and  Hawaiian  Refining  Co...  1,200 

1898..- Oxnard6 Ventura American  Beet  Sugar  Co. 2,000 

1899 Spreckels  7 Monterey Spreckels  Sugar  Co.  3,000 

1899 Betteravia8 Santa  Barbara.. .Union  Sugar  Co. 500 

Total  capacity,  tons  per  day __ _     10,050 

Note.— The  small  figures  refer  to  the  same  numbers  on  the  small  map  on  the  cover. 

Exclusive  of  the  land  owned  by  these  companies,  the  capital  invested 
in  the  factories  will  aggregate  approximately  $12,000,000,  to  which  may 
be  added  as  a  working  capital  and  that  invested  in  land,  enough  to  raise 
the  total  amount  invested  by  the  companies  themselves  in  the  industry 
to  about  $20,000,000. 

THE  EARLY  PERIOD  OF  THE  INDUSTRY.    (1857  to  1880.) 

The  Pioneer  Factory.— As  early  as  July  20,  1857,  the  "California 
Cultivator"  asks  the  question,  "  Who  will  pioneer  the  manufacture  of 
beet  sugar?"  and  at  the  same  time  sets  forth  certain  advantages  in  Cali- 
fornia, among  which  may  be  found  the  "  get-rich-quick  "  statement  that 
"two  crops  can  be  grown  annually  averaging  40  to  50  tons  per  acre," the 
spirit  of  which  the  writer  fears  has  not  altogether  died  out,  even  to-day. 
As  if  to  answer  this  query,  a  company  was  organized  at  San  Jose,  but 
no  other  steps  were  taken  toward  the  manufacture  of  sugar.  Although 
the  press  of  the  State  constantly  agitated  the  matter,  yet  no  further 
active  steps  toward  organization  were  taken  until  1869,  when  Messrs. 
Bonesteel,  Otto  &  Co.,  who  at  the  time  were  engaged  in  a  small  way  in 
the  business  at  Fon  du  Lac,  Wis.,  became  associated  with  certain  Cali- 
fornia men  and  organized  "The  California  Beet  Sugar  Company,"  having 
a  capital  stock  of  $250,000.  The  stockholders  of  this  pioneer  company 
were  C.  I.  Hutchinson,  Flint,  Bixby  &  Co.,  T.  G.  Phelps,  E.  H.  Dyer, 
E.  R.  Carpentier,  E.  F.  Dyer,  W.  B.  Carr,  W.  T.  Garratt,  and  E.  G. 
Rollins,  all  of  California  ;  and  A.  D.  Bonesteel,  A.  Otto,  and  Ewald 
Klinean,  of  Wisconsin.  Immediately  on  the  arrival  of  the  Eastern 
parties,  who  were  to  assume  the  technical  management  of  the  business, 
in  1870,  active  operation  was  begun  by  the  erection  of  the  factory  on 
the  farm  of  E.  F.  Dyer,  at  Alvarado,  and  on  November  17th,  of  the  same 


CALIFORNIA    SUGAR    INDUSTRY — EARLY    HISTORY. 


9 


year,  the  first  beet  sugar  was  made  in  California.  From  that  time  until 
the  present,  excepting  only  one  year,  it  has  been  annually  upon  the 
market. 

This  pioneer  factory  cost  approximately  $125,000,  had  a  capacity  of 
50  tons  per  day,  and  turned  out  raw  sugar  at  a  cost  of  10  cents  per 
pound   when  sugar  was  selling  at  12  to  15  cents  on  the  San  Francisco 


'1 


:      p  ■ 

(a)    Original  Alvarado  Sugar  Factory.    Capacity,  50  Tons. 


(b)    The  Isleton  Sugar  Factory.    Capacity,  75  Tons. 
PLATE  I.    Two  Pioneer  Sugar  Houses. 

market.  The  company  paid  $3.50  per  ton  for  beets  delivered,  and  manu- 
factured in  the  first  campaign  500,000  pounds  of  sugar.  Plate  I  (a)' 
shows  a  picture  of  this  early  factory. 

The  operation  of  this  mill  is  described  as  follows  :  *  "  The  beets  are 
washed  and  rasped,  and  the  juice  is  extracted  by  a  centrifugal  screen. 
Defecation  is  effected  by  lime,   and  purification   by  carbonic  acid  and 


*  Pacific  Rural  Press.  Vol.  I,  No.  1. 


10  UNIVERSITY    OF    CALIFORNIA EXPERIMENT    STATION. 

animal  charcoal.  They  use  vacuum  pans  for  the  juice-boiling;  and  again 
centrifugals  for  extracting  the  molasses  from  the  crystal  sugar." 

A  year  previous  to  the  building  of  the  Alvarado  mill,  "The  Sacramento 
Valley  Sugar  Company  "  was  organized  by  a  Mr.  Wardsworth,  who  had 
previously  *  "  put  up  an  experimental  plant,  and  proved  the  fact  that 
our  beets  were  good  for  sugar;  under  which  assurance  a  70- ton  plant 
was  ordered  from  Germany."  But  subsequently  the  company  decided 
to  delay  one  year,  thus  losing  the  honor  of  priority.  In  1871  the  factory 
was  erected  at  Brighton,  near  Sacramento,  having  a  nominal  capacity  of 
75  tons  per  day,  at  a  total  cost  of  $250,000,  the  machinery  costing 
$160,000.  Under  date  of  November  18,  1871,  the  "Rural  Press,"  in 
describing  the  mill,  says,  "The  new  factory  goes  into  operation  this 
week,  using  the  diffusion  system  instead  of  the  centrifugal  for  removing 
sugar."     This  was  the  first  diffusion  battery  operated  in  America. 

About  this  time  the  San  Jose  project  again  indicated  life,  and  we  find 
Mr.  Tyler  Beach,  secretary  of  the  San  Jose  Sugar  Company,  saying  that 
$40,000  of  the  $200,000  capital  stock  has  been  subscribed. 

In  this  same  year  Salinas  makes  its  first  movement  toward  demon- 
strating the  possibilities  of  beet-sugar  production  by  shipping  1,200 
pounds  of  beets  to  the  factory  at  Alvarado  for  a  working  test.  This 
appears  to  have  been  the  last  active  effort  at  San  Jose,  but  its  more  for- 
tunate neighbor  now  has  the  proud  distinction  of  having  the  largest 
beet-sugar  factory  in  the  world. 

The  Alvarado  factory  continued  to  produce  sugar  with  varying  success 
for  four  years,  when  internal  difficulties  in  the  company  arose  and  the 
Eastern  parties  transferred  their  connection  to  Soquel,  Santa  Cruz 
County,  and  together  with  capitalists  of  San  Francisco  there  started  a 
third  factory.  The  Alvarado  factory  struggled  on  until  1876,  when 
drought  destroyed  the  entire  crop,  and  the  factory  closed  its  doors. 

The  Sacramento  Valley  Company  ran  successfully  in  1871,  but  in 
1872  the  beet  crop  was  much  injured  by  the  ravages  of  the  "army 
worm."  The  campaign  of  1873  opened  on  August  5th  and  extended  to 
November  22d,  the  beets  showing  an  average  of  8  per  cent  sugar,  and  an 
average  yield  of  10  tons  per  acre.  The  company  manufactured  982,120 
pounds  of  sugar,  inclusive  of  first,  second,  and  third  grades.  This 
factory  continued  to  contend  with  army  worm,  grasshoppers,  drought, 
inexperience,  and  opposition  on  the  part  of  interested  parties  until  1875, 
when  the  factory  closed  and  the  machinery  was  offered  for  sale  at 
$45,000. 

Early  Efforts  to  Crush  the  Industry.— It  is  interesting  to  note  that  the 
early  attempts  to  introduce  the  manufacture  of  sugar  from  beets  on  the 
Pacific  Coast  were  met  with  efforts  to  crush  the  industry  similar  to 
those  used  in  the  beginning  of  the  century,  when  the  beet  first  threat- 

*  Pacific  Rural  Press,  Vol.  I,  No.  1. 


CALIFORNIA    SUGAR    INDUSTRY EARLY    HISTORY.  11 

ened  to  compete  with  cane  for  the  championship  of  the  world's  sugar 
production  (and  which  with  the  renewed  interest  in  the  industry  have 
again  been  apparent  during  the  past  year) ;  for  under  date  of  January  1, 
1871,  we  find  the  following  in  the  "Pacific  Rural  Press": 

"  Whenever  any  enterprise  is  started  in  this  city  or  vicinity  there  is 
always  a  hard  fight  made  by  jobbers  and  importers  to  crush  out  the 
new  enterprise.  Of  course,  the  beet-sugar  enterprise  is  no  exception. 
The  first  attack  was  a  material  reduction  in  the  price  of  the  class  of 
sugar  manufactured  at  Alvarado.  *  *  *  The  next  attempt  was  to 
frighten  capital  from  investing  in  the  numerous  projects  for  other  man- 
ufactories which  were  set  on  foot  as  soon  as  the  success  at  Alvarado  was 
made  known." 

The  effect  of  these  attempts  may  be  the  better  realized  if  it  be  stated 
that  at  the  time  the  factory  started  at  Alvarado  sugar  was  selling  on  the 
San  Francisco  market  at  15  to  16  cents  per  pound,  and  as  the  beet  sugar 
came  on  the  market  the  price  was  suddenly  put  down  to  11  cents;  this, 
together  with  the  difficulties  attendant  upon  inexperience  and  lack  of 
proper  management,  proved  too  much  for  the  struggling  company. 

The  importance  of  the  manufacture  attained  in  California  is  indicated 
by  the  following  figures: 

Pounds. 

*1870 500,000 

1871 800,000 

1872 1,125,000 

1873 _.  1,500,000 

The  Soquel  Factory. — The  factory  at  Soquel  made  its  first  sugar  in 
1874.  There  are  some  conflicting  data  as  to  this  factory,  but  Mr.  W.  R. 
Radcliffe,  of  the  "  Watson ville  Pajaronian,"  saysf  that  the  factory  ran 
in  1876,  and  the  "  Pacific  Rural  Press,"  under  date  of  November  10, 
1877,  states  that  "the  factory  was  running  at  full  capacity  and  the 
company  would  cut  about  9,000  tons,"  for  which  they  paid  $4.75  per 
ton.  The  same  paper  states  that  this  factory  had  a  run  of  two  months 
in  1879. 

The  Isleton  Factory. — In  1877  the  interest  again  revived  about  Sacra- 
mento, and  another  factory  was  erected  at  Isleton,  an  island  in  the 
Sacramento'  River  ill  adapted  to  beet  culture,  on  account  of  the  high 
water-table,  the  water  often  rising  above  the  level  of  the  beet  fields.  It 
should  be  said,  however,  that  the  original  idea  of  the  factory  was  the 
manufacture  of  sugar  from  watermelons,  but  this  not  proving  feasible, 
attention  was  turned  to  the  beet.  On  account  of  the  poor  agricultural 
conditions,  the  project  was  abandoned  by  the  company  after  the  first 
campaign  in  1878.  The  factory  had  a  revival  for  another  year  in  1880, 
during  which  single  campaign  it  was  under  lease  by  Mr.  H.  M.  Ames, 

*  Report  of  California  State  Agricultural  Society,  1874. 
t  Pacific  Rural  Press,  Vol.  XIX,  No.  1. 


it 


12  UNIVERSITY    OF    CALIFORNIA — EXPERIMENT    STATION. 

of  Oakland,  a  stockholder  in  the  factory  at  Alvarado,  which  company 
in  the  meantime  had  been  reorganized,  as  will  appear  later. 

The  Standard  Sugar  Refining  Co. — Thus  it  appears  that,  excepting 
1887,  when  the  Alvarado  factory  did  not  run,  beet  sugar  has  been 
annually  on  the  market  in  California  since  the  inception  of  the  industry 
in  1870;  for  in  1879,  overlapping  the  failure  of  the  Soquel  concern,  the 
Alvarado  company  was  reorganized  by  Mr.  E.  H.  Dyer,  who,  believing 
that  with  proper  management  the  business  could  be  successfully  con- 
ducted, had  purchased  from  the  old  company  the  buildings  and  a  por- 
tion of  the  land.  He  found  it  somewhat  difficult  to  interest  capital  in 
the  face  of  so  many  failures,  but  finally  succeeded  and  organized  the 
Standard  Beet  Sugar  Company,  with  a  capital  of  $100,000.  For  the 
purpose  of  increasing  the  stock  to  $200,000,  the  company  very  shortly 
reincorporated  under  the  modified  title,  u  The  Standard  Sugar  Refining 
Company,"  with  the  following  officers:  O.  F.  Griffin,  president;  J.  P. 
Dyer,  vice-president;  E.  H.  Dyer,  general  superintendent;  W.  F.  Ingalls* 
secretary;  other  members  of  the  company  being  R.  N.  Graves  and  G.  H. 
Waggoner. 

The  year  1880  saw  three  factories  producing  sugar  in  California,  the 
output  from  which  reached  the  maximum  for  this  early  period.  The 
San  Francisco  Grocer"  gives  the  following  figures  for  that  year: 

Pounds. 

Standard  Refinery  (Alvarado)  - 1,574,233 

Isleton  factory - 298,427 

Soquel  factory  (estimated) 300,000 

Total 2,172,660 


THE  DORMANT  PERIOD.     (1880  to  1887.) 

This  may  be  said  to  end  the  early  factory  period  of  the  industry  in 
California.  From  this  time  (1880)  until  1888  the  factory  at  Alvarado 
was  the  only  one  to  survive  and  keep  alive  the  spark  of  interest  in  the 
United  States,  which  in  our  day  has  kindled  into  a  mighty  flame.  There 
is  no  greater  evidence  of  the  vitality  of  the  industry  than  the  continued 
existence  of  this  pioneer  factory  in  the  face  of  active  opposition  and 
exposed  to  direct  competition  with  the  cheap  products  imported  from 
Hawaiian  Islands  under  the  then  existing  treaty. 

The  continued  operation  of  this  factory  in  the  face  of  the  adverse  con- 
ditions named,  while  perhaps  partially  accounted  for  by  its  favorable 
location,  is  undoubtedly  more  directly  due  to  intelligent  and  close 
attention  to  the  details  of  its  various  operations  in  the  field  and  factory 
than  to  any  other  factor. 

From  1880  to  1888  may  well  be  styled  the  dormant  period  of  the 
industry  not  only  in  California,  but  also  in  the  United  States  generally. 


CALIFORNIA    SUGAR    INDUSTRY EARLY    HISTORY.  13 

Since  the  time  of  its  reorganization  the  factory  has  manufactured 
sugar  annually.  The  first  season's  run  of  this  new  company  netted  a 
clear  profit  of  $1,411.73,  which  was  the  first  money  actually  made  in  the 
manufacture  of  beet  sugar  in  this  State,  and  probably  in  the  United 
States.  This  factory  continued  to  run  on  a  paying  basis  for  six  con- 
secutive years,  the  greatest  earnings  for  a  single  year  being  $44,732.35. 

While  this  company  did  fairly  well  until  1884,  after  that  date  one 
calamity  and  another  befell  the  company,  and  from  that  time  until 
1886  it  had  but  a  struggling  existence.  For  the  season  of  1884  the  com- 
pany made  extra  exertions  to  induce  farmers  to  grow  beets,  resulting  in 
a  great  increase  in  acreage.  All  conditions  for  growth  being  favorable 
in  that  season,  a  very  large  crop  was  the  result — larger  than  the  factory 
could  easily  handle.  A  very  warm  winter  resulted  in  a  lowering  of  the 
sugar  content  of  the  beets  that  had  been  delivered,  and  finally  the  fac- 
tory found  it  unprofitable  to  longer  continue  the  campaign,  even  while 
it  had  many  tons  of  beets  on  hand.  During  this  campaign,  too,  hos- 
tilities commenced  between  the  two  San  Francisco  refineries,  which 
completely  demoralized  the  sugar  market;  and  between  the  two  unfor- 
tunate occurrences  the  factory  failed  to  make  a  profit  from  this  large 
crop.  The  low  price  of  sugar  continued  to  hold,  and  although  the  fac- 
tory continued  to  run  without  financial  loss  until  its  machinery  was 
badly  damaged  by  the  explosion  of  a  boiler  in  1886,  it  was  unable  to 
make  a  profit.  The  tons  of  beets  worked  and  the  sugar  made  therefrom 
are  shown  in  the  subjoined  table;  all  data,  except  as  indicated,  being 
furnished  from  the  books  of  the  company: 

TABLE  I. 
Results  at  Alvarado,  1880-1888. 

Campaign.                                                                      Beets  Worked,  Sugar  Made, 

Tons.  Pounds. 

1879-80 13,000  1,231,966 

1880-81.. ._ 9,326  1,184,973 

1881-82 _.       11,230  1,415,847 

1882-83 10,489  1,098,583 

1883-84 . 7,901  1,027,826 

1884-85 .-- *16,728  1,906,000 

1885-86 *10,500  1 1,200,000 

1886-87 12,596  *1,438,000 

1887-88 --. No  beet  sugar  made  in  United  States. 

At  the  end  of  the  eighth  year  the  low  price  of  sugar  and  active  com- 
petition, coupled  with  damage  from  a  serious  boiler  explosion,  forced 
the  company  to  improve  its  facilities  for  manufacture,  and  in  1887  the 
Pacific  Coast  Sugar  Company  was  organized  and  a  new  factory  erected. 
This  company  operated  one  year,  and  then  sold  the  factory  to  the  pres- 
ent Alameda  Sugar  Company  (see  page  34). 

*  Estimated. 

t  Willett  &  Gray's  Statistical  Sugar  Trade  Journal. 


14 


UNIVERSITY    OF   CALIFORNIA — EXPERIMENT    STATION. 


The  final  success  of  this  factory  was  mainly  due  to  the  indomitable 
energy  of  Mr.  E.  H.  Dyer,  to  whom  belongs  the  credit  of  inaugurating 
this  new  industry  on  the  Pacific  Coast.  He  still  resides  in  close  prox- 
imity to  the  factory  and  is  still  a  stockholder,  although  on  account  of 
declining  years,  he  has  retired  from  active  business  life. 

During  this  period  it  is  important  to  record  that  through  improve- 
ments in  machinery  and  in  methods  of  handling  the  juices,  developed 
largely  through  adapting  them  to  American  conditions,  the  Dyers  had 
been  able  to  reduce  the  cost  of  manufacturing  sugar  from  10  cents  per 
pound  in  1879  to  5  cents  in  1887. 

The  character  of  beets  grown  during  this  period  is  fairly  represented 
by  the  following  figures  from  the  records  of  the  factory: 


TABLE  II. 
Showing  Some  Field  Results  at  Alvarado. 


IS 

Total 
Solids. 

Sucrose. 

Other 
Solids. 

Purity 
Coeffi- 
cient. 

Remarks. 

1.. 

16.34 

13.85 

2.57 

83.94 

Planted  315  acres;  will  average  15  to  20  tons 

per  acre. 

2.. 

16.85 

14.37 

2.425 

85.7 

Planted  10  acres;  yield,  15.3  tons  per  acre. 

3.. 

16.08 

13.22 

2.88 

82.15 

Planted  10  acres;  yield,  23.7  tons  per  acre. 

4.. 

16.20 

13.70 

2.57 

84.186 

Planted  20  acres;  yield,  18  tons  per  acre. 

5.. 

16.14 

13.54 

2.60 

83.26 

Planted  12  acres;  yield,  20.5  tons  per  acre. 

6__ 

16.70 

14.2 

2.50 

84.50 

Planted  18  acres;  yield,  23  tons  per  acre. 

7- 

15.28 

12.45 

2.88 

81.41 

Planted  10  acres;  yield,  15.3  tons  per  acre. 

8.. 

15.98 

13.62 

2.31 

85.50 

Planted  8  acres;  yield,  19  tons  per  acre. 

9__ 

16.51 

13.48 

3.06 

81.40 

Planted  10  acres;  yield,  17.5  tons  per  acre. 

10.. 

16.22 

13.57 

2.65 

83.62 

Planted  7  acres;  yield,  15  tons  per  acre. 

11.. 

15.27 

11.67 

3.25 

78.92 

Planted  5  acres;  yield,  26  tons  per  acre. 

12.. 

17.09 

14.33 

2.67 

84.00 

Planted  20  acres;  yield,  23.7  tons  per  acre. 

One  thing  noticeable  in  this  table  is  that  the  beets  produced  in  these 
earlier  years  were  fully  equal  in  richness  to  those  produced  in  Europe 
for  a  like  period.  The  large  differences  in  yield  indicated  in  the  table 
were  not  due  so  much  to  variation  in  the  fertility  of  the  soil  as  to  unlike 
and  irregular  methods  of  cultivation. 

In  speaking  of  this  matter  Mr.  Dyer  says:  "The  experience  of  six 
years  has  shown  that  the  average  yield  of  beets  per  acre  has  steadily 
increased,  and  this  increase  has  been  due  to  improved  agriculture  alone. 
At  first  the  farmers  (the  company  does  not  grow  beets)  were  largely 
ignorant  of  the  correct  method  of  beet  culture,  and  as  this  ignorance 
disappeared  the  results  were  seen  in  an  increase  of  the  crop." 

During  this  period  Dr.  Hilgard,  of  the  University  of  California  and 
Director  of  the  Experiment  Station,  realizing  the  adaptability  of  many 
sections  of  the  State  to  this  industry  which  promised  so  much  to 
American  agriculture,  repeatedly  urged  its  introduction  into  the  State 
on    a   more   extended  scale,  his  advocacy  often   meeting  with    active 


CALIFORNIA    SUGAR    INDUSTRY EARLY    HISTORY.  15 

opposition,  even  by  parties  who  later  became  convinced  of  the  truth 
of  his  contention  and  became  very  heavily  interested  financially. 

That  strong  opposition  still  held  toward  the  industry  is  well  indicated 
by  an  article  signed  L.  D.  Wilson  and  published  in  one  of  the  papers 
of  that  date: 

*"  Capital  has  been  seduced  into  these  ventures  by  plausible  repre- 
sentation and  magnificent  figures.  *  *  *  Every  good  citizen  who 
has  a  regard  for  the  permanent  prosperity  of  the  State,  whether  engaged 
in  sugar-making  or  not,  must  regret  so  large  an  expenditure  of  money 
fruitlessly.  It  has  a  dampening  effect  upon  investment  in  manufactur- 
ing enterprises  of  more  meritorious  character." 

But  notwithstanding  the  attacks  of  the  enemies  of  the  industry,  the 
factory  at  Alvarado,  being  favorably  located  and  well  managed,  con- 
tinued to  do  business,  as  will  the  factories  of  to-day  when  not  handi- 
capped by  unfavorable  economic  conditions  of  soil,  climate,  and 
extravagant  management,  notwithstanding  the  recently  ill-advised  and 
insidious  attacks  of  deeply  interested  parties. 

EARLY  ATTEMPTS   TO   DRY    BEETS. 

Mention  should  be  made,  before  leaving  this  early  historical  period, 
of  the  interest  aroused  at  Los  Angeles  in  1880  by  Mr.  Thomas  Gennert, 
who  had  previously  been  connected  with  the  enterprise  in  Canada  and 
Maine.  In  connection  with  Mr.  Nadeau,  he  hoped  to  grow  beets  and 
sun-dry  them  for  preservation  and  transportation.  Their  factory,  how- 
ever, failed  to  make  sugar  successfully  from  the  dried  beets.  The  reason 
of  the  failure  does  not  appear,  but  it  was  probably  due  to  some  imper- 
fection of  machinery  or  faulty  manipulation,  for  50  tons  of  the  dried 
beets  were  sent  to  the  Alvarado  factory  for  a  working  test  and  sugar  was 
successfully  made  from  them;  thus  seeming  to  demonstrate  the  conten- 
tion of  Dr.  E.  W.  Hilgard,  of  the  University  of  California,  who  had 
discussed  the  matter  in  a  preliminary  way  in  the  Annual  Report  of  the 
Station  in  1879  and  again  in  the  following  year.  Although  attempts 
had  been  made  at  drying  beets  by  artificial  heat  and  it  had  been  prac- 
ticed to  a  very  limited  extent  in  Europe,  yet  the  great  expense  attendant 
upon  such  drying  had  rendered  it  unprofitable,  {"notwithstanding  the 
advantage  of  a  high  purity  coefficient  of  the  extract,  resulting  from  the 
fact  that  in  that  drying  process  a  portion  of  the  impurities  of  the  fresh 
juice  is  rendered  insoluble,  and  thus  remain  behind  in  the  leached  pulp 
of  the  fire-dried  beets."  These  experiments  are  particularly  interesting, 
inasmuch  as  they  represent  the  only  ones  of  the  kind  attempted  in  this 
country,  and  further  show  the  character  of  the  beets  produced  in  this 
early  period  of  the  industry. 


*  Pacific  Rural  Press,  Vol.  XIX,  No.  1. 

t  Report  of  California  Experiment  Station,  1879. 


16  UNIVERSITY    OF   CALIFORNIA — EXPERIMENT   STATION. 

The  first  experiments  in  drying  were  conducted  on  a  small  scale  in 
1879  at  the  suggestion  of  Mr.  Thomas  Gennert.  The  sliced  beets  were 
dried  in  the  open  air,  as  fruit  is  dried  to-day,  and  samples  were  sent  to 
the  Experiment  Station  for  analysis. 

In  discussing  the  results  in  the  "Pacific  Rural  Press,"  Dr.  Hilgard 
says: 

"In  from  three  to  four  days,  according  to  the  conditions  of  the 
weather,  the  fresh  beets  were  reduced  to  one  fourth  of  their  weight,  and 
thus  converted  into  a  material  containing  from  56  to  63  percent  of  cane 
sugar,  which,  of  course,  would  readily  bear  the  cost  of  shipment  to  any 
reasonable  distance.  There  could  be  no  difficulty  in  keeping  such  a 
material  in  properly  prepared  bins,  in  this  climate,  for  years;  and  the 
extract  from  it  was  found  by  me  to  be  fully  up  to  the  standard  of  purity 
observed  in  the  fresh  beet  juice  itself.  In  1880  these  experiments  were 
repeated,  unfortunately  on  too  large  a  scale  for  an  untried  industry. 
The  season  was  unfavorable  in  every  respect,  the  sugar  percentage  being 
low  and  the  weather  at  the  time  very  cold  and  foggy,  so  as  to  retard  the 
drying  and  render  the  product  liable  to  spoiling,  without  special  pre- 
cautions for  which  no  preparations  had  been  made.  The  result  was  as 
good  as  could  be  looked  for,  although  there  was  disappointment  in  not 
securing  a  purer  product,  which  could  have  been  worked  with  less 
expensive  apparatus  than  the  fresh  beets.  Partly  in  consequence  of  this, 
the  process  and  its  product  were  withdrawn  from  the  supervision  of  the 
expert  who  had  thus  far  managed  the  enterprise;  and  when,  some 
months  later,  the  bulk  of  the  dried  roots  was  sent  to  the  Alvarado  fac- 
tory for  working,  it  was  found  that  the  extract  was  excessively  impure, 
and  that  only  a  very  small  product  of  sugar  could  be  obtained,  the  cane 
sugar  percentage  having  fallen  to  about  half  of  the  original  one.  Exam- 
ination showed  that  the  beet  chips  had  undergone  a  partial  fermentation, 
evidently  from  an  exposure  to  dampness  that  could  and  should,  as  a 
matter  of  course,  have  been  avoided  by  proper  storage.  This  was  the 
extent  of  the  failure  which,  at  that  time,  was  claimed  by  some  as  dis- 
posing finally  of  the  project  of  sun-drying  beets  in  California.  So  far 
from  this,  it  has  merely  shown  that  the  rough,  wholesale  method  of  pro- 
cedure for  which  Calif ornian  agriculturists  seem  to  entertain  a  special 
predilection  as  the  only  ' practical'  mode  of  doing  things,  can  not  be 
applied  to  this  industry;  and  that,  like  wine-making,  it  requires  some 
technical  experience  and  reasonable  care  to  be  successful  in  this  prelim- 
inary step  of  the  manufacture,  as  in  the  succeeding  ones.  But  that 
with  some  experience,  and  with  proper  appliances,  this  mode  of  con- 
serving the  raw  material  for  the  beet-sugar  factories  throughout  the  year 
can  be  made  successful  and  profitable  in  California  I  see  no  reason  to 
doubt.  If  so,  it  will  constitute  a  special  advantage  for  the  industry  that 
can  probably  be  realized  in  few  other  countries." 

While  the  matter  of  drying  beets  would  appear  perfectly  feasible,  as 


CALIFORNIA    SUGAR    INDUSTRY — MODERN    PERIOD.  17 

indicated,  yet  the  writer  believes  as  a  practical  application  it  will  hardly 
appeal  to  manufacturers  until  they  secure  a  much  larger  supply  than  is 
now  the  case  at  any  factory  in  the  country.  Outlying  cutting-stations, 
combined  with  pipe-lines  for  conveying  the  juice  to  a  central  plant,  as 
about  Lehi,  Utah,  is  a  far  more  feasible  industrial  venture. 

That  the  beets  grown  in  this  southern  area  in  this  early  period  were 
of  good  quality  for  sugar  purposes  is  indicated  not  only  by  the  results 
stated  above,  but  also  by  a  series  of  seven  analyses  reported  by  Mr. 
Gennert,  averaging  14.7  per  cent  sugar  and  88  per  cent  purity,  and 
giving  an  average  yield  of  15.6  tons  per  acre. 

THE  MODERN  PERIOD.     (1888  to  1902.) 

The  industry  took  on  new  life  in  1888,  in  which  year,  to  meet  the 
lessened  price  of  sugar  and  the  competition  offered  by  the  erection  of  a 
new  factory  at  Watsonville  equipped  with  more  modern  appliances,  the 
Alvarado  factory  improved  its  machinery,  and  later,  in  1897,  increased 
its  capacity  to  900  tons  per  day. 

It  was  not,  however,  until  the  McKinley  tariff,  which  went  into  effect 
in  October,  1890.  giving  a  bounty  of  2  cents  per  pound  on  all  sugar  pro- 
duced in  the  United  States,  that  the  industry  could  be  said  to  be  sure  of 
a  footing.  Whatever  may  be  thought  of  the  wisdom  of  this  step,  it  is 
certain  that  it  gave  new  hope  to  both  operators  and  growers,  and 
between  the  time  that  this  Act  went  into  effect  in  October,  1890,  and  the 
following  June,  some  $6,000,000  had  been  invested  in  beet-sugar  factories 
in  this  country  where  experiments  had  been  previously  conducted. 
From  the  encouragement  offered  by  this  Act  may  probably  be  dated  the 
really  active  modern  period  of  the  industry. 

With  the  development  of  the  factory  has  come  the  growth  of  other 
industries.  When  the  Watsonville  and  Chino  factories  were  built  all 
the  machinery  had  to  be  imported  from  Europe,  Germany  furnishing 
about  $2,000,000  worth  of  machinery  for  four  factories  built  during  1888 
and  1891.  The  Yankee  inventive  genius  of  machinery  men  at  once 
took  hold  of  the  matter,  making  so  valuable  improvements  that  both 
the  above-mentioned  factories  were  shortly  refitted  with  machines  of 
American  make,  and  every  factory  in  this  country  in  the  last  few  years 
has  purchased  American  machines. 

This  small  bounty,  even  for  a  brief  time,  was  a  wonderful  stimulus  to 
the  struggling  industry,  and  with  a  reasonable  protection  from  the 
influx  of  cheap  sugar  from  foreign  ports  this  youthful  industry  will 
speedily  reach  the  age  of  maturity  and  fulfill  Napoleon's  prediction 
when,  in  "Analyse  de  la  Question  des  Sucres,"  he  represents  the  beet  as 
saying:  "Respect  me,  for  I  enrich  the  soil;  I  fertilize  the  land,  which 
otherwise  would  remain  uncultivated;  I  employ  the  hands,  which  with- 
out me  would  remain  idle;  finally,  I  solve  one  of  the  greatest  problems 
of  modern  society,  I  organize  and  increase  labor." 
2 — csi 


18  UNIVERSITY    OF   CALIFORNIA — EXPERIMENT    STATION. 

RESULTS    AT    ALVARADO   FACTORY. 

The  country  from  which  the  supply  of  beets  is  drawn  for  the  Alvarado 
factory  is  one  of  the  richest  in  the  State.  The  soil  is  an  easily  cultivated 
sandy  loam,  largely  subirrigated  and  very  retentive  of  moisture,  stretch- 
ing from  the  bay  eastward  toward  the  hills  for  a  distance  of  from  five 
to  ten  miles.  The  climate  is  a  peculiar  one,  and  experience  has  shown 
it  to  be  exceedingly  well  adapted  to  the  development  of  a  first-class 
beet.  The  planting  season  can  be  extended  over  a  period  ranging  from 
February  to  well  into  May,  thus  securing  a  long  campaign  for  the  factory, 
which  can  usually  begin  operations  in  August  and  have  consecutively- 
maturing  crops  of  beets  on  which  to  work.  The  summers  and  the  falls 
are  generally  dry  and  the  winters  mild,  so  there  is  little,  if  any,  danger 
of  the  roots  taking  a  second  growth,  and  after  harvest  the  beets  need 
little  protection.  Few  factories  are  so  favorably  located  agriculturally 
as  this  pioneer  in  the  industry.  It  is,  perhaps,  more  certain  of  a  reason- 
ably good  crop  each  year  than  any  other  factory  in  the  State  under  the 
present  conditions — unless  we  except  the  Watsonville  factory — inasmuch 
as  the  precipitation  (the  average  of  which  is  20  inches),  even  when  it 
is  deficient  in  the  more  southern  areas,  never  falls  below  the  point  of 
maturing  a  profitable  crop.  The  smallest  average  tonnage  since  1888, 
7.2  tons  per  acre,  was  secured  in  1898,  which  is  considered  to  have  been 
the  most  unfavorable  season  since  1876-7.  Again  in  1900  the  tonnage 
fell  to  about  the  same  point,  this  also  being  a  very  dry  year.  Based 
upon  the  results  of  the  last  ten  years  the  average  percentage  of  sugar  in 
the  beets  has  been  13.66,  and  the  average  purity  81.7.  On  an  average 
of  over  3,000  acres  annually  there  has  been  produced  for  thirteen  years 
an  average  yield  of  9.75  tons  per  acre,  for  which  the  factory  has  paid 
the  farmer  an  average  price  of  $4.60  per  ton,  thus  giving  a  return  of 
$46.54  per  acre,  including  good,  bad,  and  indifferent  years.  The  crude 
sugar  per  acre  has  ranged  from  3,864  pounds  in  1896,  when  the  rainfall 
was  about  32  inches,  to  a  minimum  of  1,932  pounds  in  1898,  when  the 
rainfall  was  but  a  little  above  10  inches;  thus  showing  what  a  great 
influence  variations  in  climate  from  season  to  season  may  have  upon 
the  factory  returns  as  well  as  upon  the  profit  to  the  grower. 

The  season  of  1901  was  favorable,  and  from  the  6,557  acres  there  was 
an  average  yield  of  10.3  tons  carrying  15.2  per  cent  sugar  in  the  beet, 
with  a  purity  coefficient  of  81.  The  production  of  sugar  from  this  fac- 
tory was  exceeded  by  only  four  factories  in  the  country,  two  of  these 
being  in  this  State.  The  campaign  lasted  128  days  (August  19th  to 
December  25th),  during  which  time  67,251  tons  of  sugar  beets  were 
worked.  It  is  interesting  to  note  that  from  improved  .methods  and 
machinery  the  cost  of  handling  a  ton  of  beets  in  the  factory  dropped 
from  $5.28  in  1889  to  $2.71  in  1897. 


CALIFORNIA    SUGAR    INDUSTRY — ALVARADO    FACTORY. 


19 


20 


UNIVERSITY    OF    CALIFORNIA EXPERIMENT    STATION. 


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CALIFORNIA   SUGAR   INDUSTRY — WATSON VILLE   FACTORY.  21 

The  present  season  has  not  been  quite  so  favorable  for  the  crop  as  in 
1901,  and  only  about  two  thirds  as  many  beets  will  be  cut.  During  the 
present  season  the  company  has  5,300  acres  in  beets,  about  750  acres  of 
which  is  being  grown  by  the  company  itself  near  Pleasanton,  which 
furnishes  the  bulk  of  beets  for  the  earlier  part  of  the  campaign,  planting 
in  that  locality  being  possible  in  February. 

The  number  of  individual  growers  for  this  factory  ranges  from  three 
hundred  to  five  hundred.  These  farmers  have  come  to  know  the  crop  and 
to  need  comparatively  little  instruction  from  the  factory,  with  the  excep- 
tion of  the  newer  growers,  which  may  also  be  said  of  those  about  Wat- 
sonville,  only  to  a  little  less  extent,  with  which  factory  it  is  interesting 
to  compare  the  results  given  above.  Such  a  comparison  is  particularly 
interesting,  as  these  are  the  longest  records  of  any  beet-sugar  houses  in 
this  country  and  illustrate  what  may  fairly  be  expected  from  favorably- 
situated  and  well-managed  factories  in  humid  regions.  The  two  tables 
show  a  steady  development  of  the  industry  and  afford  the  most  exten- 
sive data  extant  for  judging  of  the  "ups  and  downs"  of  this  industry, 
both  from  the  standpoint  of  the  farmer  and  from  that  of  the  factory. 

THE    WATSONVILLE    FACTORY. 

As  previously  indicated,  in  1888  Claus  Spreckels  had  been  won 
over  to  the  importance  of  the  beet  as  a  sugar  producer  and  the  adapt- 
ability of  California  conditions  to  the  industry,  and  in  company  with 
others,  under  the  firm  name  of  "  The  Western  Beet  Sugar  Company," 
erected  a  factory  at  Watsonville,  Santa  Cruz  County,  in  the  rich  Pajaro 
Valley,  which  was  soon  developed  into  the  largest  factory  operated  in 
the  United  States,  and  so  remained  until  1898.  The  country  about  this 
factory  is  one  of  exceptional  richness  in  all  the  elements  essential  to  the 
highest  returns  in  beet  culture.  In  the  lower  part  of  the  valley  a  clay 
loam  soil  predominates,  and  higher  up  an  adobe,  which  is  succeeded  by 
a  dark  red  loam.     The  favorite  soil  for  beets  is  the  clay  loam. 

This  factory  was  also  fortunately  located,  and  has  been  one  of  the 
most  successful  in  the  country,  although,  on  account  of  its  intimate 
connection  with  the  cane  refinery  of  San  Francisco,  it  only  manufac- 
tured raw  sugar,  and  in  this  respect  has  differed  from  all  other  beet- 
sugar  factories  in  this  country.  Since  the  erection  of  the  larger  factory 
near  Salinas,  in  which  Mr.  Spreckels  is  also  the  principal  owner,  the 
Watsonville  plant  has  remained  idle,  all  beets  grown  in  that  region 
being  shipped  to  the  larger  factory,  which  will  doubtless  continue  to  be 
the  case  until  a  sufficient  acreage  is  obtained  in  the  immediate  vicinity 
of  the  larger  plant. 

The  following  tabular  record  of  the  factory  operations  for  a  period  of 
ten  years  furnishes  a  large  amount  of  valuable  information: 


22 


UNIVERSITY    OF   CALIFORNIA — -EXPERIMENT   STATION. 


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CALIFORNIA   SUGAR   INDUSTRY — WATSONVILLE    FACTORY. 


23 


24  UNIVERSITY    OP   CALIFORNIA — EXPERIMENT    STATION. 

Including  good,  bad,  and  indifferent  years,  there  has  been  an  average 
yield  of  11  tons  during  ten  years  on  about  60,000  acres  of  beets,  for 
which  the  farmers  have  received  from  $4  to  $5  per  ton.  The  returns 
per  acre  have  ranged  from  $27  to  $68,  and  averaged  $50  for  this  period. 
As  is  usually  the  case,  the  profits  from  the  crop  during  the  first  few 
years  were  small,  on  account  of  the  inexperience  of  growers,  but  when 
once  the  most  economical  methods  were  learned  and  the  land  was 
put  into  an  improved  condition  they  were  more  than  proportionately 
increased,  and  the  crop  proved  one  of  the  most  profitable  that  the 
farmer  could  grow.  This  mill  has  paid  nearly  $800,000  in  a  single 
season  for  the  crop. 

It  is  interesting  to  note  that  the  average  of  8.9  tons  of  beets  to  make 
1  ton  of  raw  sugar  is  fully  up  to  the  record  of  the  German  factories 
for  the  same  period,  notwithstanding  the  fact  that  they  have  been  so 
much  longer  in  the  business.  The  great  variation  of  two  succeeding 
years,  from  7  to  12  tons  of  beets  for  1  ton  of  raw  sugar,  while  probably 
not  altogether  due  to  difference  in  quality  of  beets,  yet  must  be  consid- 
ered as  largely  due  to  that  factor,  and  illustrates  what  an  influence  upon 
the  industry  climatic  conditions  may  have.  The  quantity  of  raw  sugar 
per  acre  ranged  from  1,466  pounds  in  1890  to  over  3,500  pounds  in  1896, 
and  averaged  2,700  pounds.  It  was  in  1896,  also,  that  the  Alvarado 
factory  secured  its  maximum  of  sugar  per  acre. 

It  is  further  interesting  to  note  that  the  price  of  sugar  decreased  about 
40  per  cent  during  the  period  covered  by  the  table,  while  the  price  paid 
for  beets  was  not  reduced  to  any  material  extent,  and  to-day,  when  sugar 
is  lower  than  it  has  ever  been,  the  price  paid  for  beets  remains  practically 
the  same. 

The  run  of  220  days  by  this  factory  in  1894  is  said  to  have  been  the 
longest  campaign  ever  made  by  any  factory  in  the  world. 

In  1898  this  locality,  like  others,  suffered  from  drought,  but  not  to 
any  great  extent.  As  a  result,  however,  the  acreage  dropped  to  7,200, 
with  a  total  yield  of  57,761  tons,  or  an  average  of  8  tons  per  acre.  The 
custom  obtains  here,  as  at  Alvarado,  of  paying  a  flat  price  per  ton  for 
the  beets,  instead  of  using  a  sliding  scale  depending  upon  the  sugar 
content  of  the  beets.  Yields  of  individual  crops  about  Watsonville 
frequently  run  to  25  tons  per  acre,  and  an  entire  tract  of  100  acres  has 
given  an  average  of  18  tons. 

THE    CHINO    FACTORY. 

A  great  impetus  was  given  to  the  beet-sugar  industry  not  only  in 
California,  but  also  in  the  United  States,  when  in  1890  the  Oxnard 
Brothers,  who  had  previously  been  engaged  in  the  refining  business  in 
the  East,  turned  their  attention  westward,  and  established  under  the 
name  u  The  Chino  Sugar  Company,''  their  first  factory  at  Chino,  San 


CALIFORNIA    SUGAR    INDUSTRY CHINO    FACTORY. 


25 


26 


UNIVERSITY    OF    CALIFORNIA— EXPERIMENT    STATION. 


Bernardino  County,  and  followed  this  by  the  erection  of  others  in 
Nebraska,  and  have  since  extended  their  operations  to  Colorado  and 
Michigan.  So  vigorously  have  they  pressed  the  business  that  they  may 
be  regarded  to-day  as  the  foremost  champions  of  the  sugar-beet  cause, 
not  only  in  California,  but  also  in  the  United  States.  They  now  operate 
six  factories,  two  of  which  are  in  this  State. 

To  establish  the  adaptability  of  the  soil  and  climate  about  Chino  to 
the  sugar  beet,  experiments  had  been  conducted  for  a  number  of  years 
with  favorable  results.  These  appealed  to  the  Oxnards,  and  demon- 
strated the  possibility  of  beet  production  in  the  locality.  From  a  region 
devoted  to  cattle-raising,  where  but  few  people  were  employed,  it  has 


*?r 


PLATE  V.    Interior  of  Chino  Beet-Sugar  Factory.    Showing  Diffusion  Battery. 

now  changed  to  a  thriving  community  of  farms  of  from  10  to  40  acres, 
where  many  people  have  homes  and  furnish  employment  for  many  more. 
The  first  campaign  of  the  factory  was  in  1891,  when  13,086  tons  of  beets 
were  received  from  1,800  acres  of  land,  for  which  the  factory  paid 
$51,035.  This  factory  was  continued  under  the  name  above  indicated 
until  1898,  when  it  was  taken  over  by  the  American  Beet  Sugar  Com- 
pany, a  company  organized  to  include  all  of  the  Oxnard  interest  in  beet 
sugar  in  the  States  previously  named. 

As  in  the  case  of  Watsonville,  the  industry  has  been  generally  suc- 
cessful at  Chino,  excepting  only  the  three  years  of  exceeding  drought. 
The  region  being  so  much  farther  south  is  more  subject  to  drought  con- 


CALIFORNIA    SUGAR    INDUSTRY — CHINO    FACTORY.  27 

ditions  than  those  previously  discussed,  and  greater  precaution  is  neces- 
sary to  retain  the  natural  moisture  in  the  soil.  The  average  returns  on 
64,435  acres  and  covering  twelve  years  have  been  over  $40  per  acre,  and  if 
the  first  two  years  in  which  the  farmers  were  learning  the  industry  and 
its  adaptability  to  the  different  soils  be  excepted,  the  returns  per  acre 
have  averaged  near  $45,  which  compares  favorably  with  any  other  crop 
of  the  region.  The  mill  has  paid  for  beets  as  high  as  $430,000  in 
a  single  season.  The  average  per  cent  of  sugar  has  been  14.6,  and 
the  price  $4.41  per  ton.  There  has  been  an  encouraging  increase  in  the 
total  acreage  planted,  especially  when  it  is  remembered  that  a  rotation 
has  been  lately  introduced  and  that  dairying  and  alfalfa-growing  have 
been  carried  on  in  the  locality  to  quite  an  extent.  The  region  has 
some  difficulties  to  contend  with  in  the  way  of  black  alkali  and  hardpan 
land,  which  is  not  the  case  in  either  of  the  localities  previously  described. 
These  local  peculiarities  tend  to  accentuate  any  unfavorable  moisture 
conditions,  especially  when  beets  are  upon  alkali  soils.* 

During  the  past  season  the  conditions  approximated  the  normal  and 
there  was  a  heavy  tonnage.  From  8,822  acres  harvested  97,605  tons  of 
beets  were  produced,  an  average  of  11  tons  per  acre.  Of  the  total  acreage 
the  company  itself  grew  about  400  acres.  The  sugar  content  in  this 
region  is  never  high,  but  quite  constant;  and  the  purity  is  generally  lower 
than  in  the  other  localities,  which  may  probably  be  traced  to  the  higher 
per  cent  of  soluble  salts  in  the  soil. 

The  beets  immediately  about  Chino  are  grown  for  the  most  part  with- 
out irrigation,  but  about  Anaheim  and  Compton,  which  furnish  about 
1,000  acres,  irrigation  is  practiced  to  a  greater  or  less  extent. 

It  does  not  appear  that  what  falling  off  there  has  been  in  the  acreage 
contracted  by  individual  farmers  has  been  due  to  any  particular  dis- 
satisfaction with  the  crop,  but  rather  to  a  combination  of  circumstances, 
some  of  which  may  even  indicate  a  more  healthy  condition  of  the 
country  and  may  ultimately  lead  to  a  greater  stability  of  the  industry. 
The  causes  leading  to  this  may  be  named  in  order  of  importance,  as 
follows: 

(1)  A  series  of  dry  years,  which  affected,  as  indicated  previously,  all 
sections  of  the  State,  but  most  seriously  of  all  the  portion  south  of 
Tehachapi. 


*The  unfavorable  effects  of  soluble  salts,  especially  common  salt,  upon  the  sugar 
content  of  beets,  are  well  understood  in  Europe,  and  soils  showing  any  obvious  symp- 
toms of  salinity  are  excluded  from  sugar-beet  culture.  Experiments  at  the  Chino 
substation  tract  have  shown  that  the  alkali  of  that  region,  mainly  sulfate  of  soda,  is 
not  nearly  as  injurious  to  the  sugar  content  as  common  salt;  so  that  very  satisfactory 
roots  have  been  produced  on  land  which,  according  to  European  views,  would  be  held 
as  wholly  unadapted  to  sugar-beet  culture.  While  unquestionably  the  sodic  sulfate  is 
less  injurious  than  common  salt,  climatic  factors  also  come  to  the  aid  of  the  sugar  beet, 
in  that  at  the  time  of  sugar  formation  the  alkali  salts  are  out  of  the  reach  of  the  active 
absorbing  rootlets ;  being  accumulated  within  a  few  inches  of  the  soil  surface  by  evapo- 
ration, while  the  subsoil  is  almost  free  from  salts. — E.  W.  H. 


28 


UNIVERSITY    OF    CALIFORNIA — EXPERIMENT    STATION. 


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CALIFORNIA    SUGAR    INDUSTRY — LOS    ALAM1TOS    FACTORY. 


29 


(2)  The  introduction  of  a  three-year  system  of  rotation:  beets,  bar- 
ley, and  rape,  the  latter  being  introduced  as  a  green-manure  crop. 

(3)  The  encroachments  of  dairy  farming  and  alfalfa-growing. 

The  first  is  a  condition  which  may  well  demand  the  serious  considera- 
tion of  the  sugar  people,  and  will  be  discussed  in  another  portion  of  this 
series. 

The  other  two  factors  in  reducing  the  individual  acreage  may  prob- 
ably be  looked  upon  as  a  sign  of  advancement  in  the  region,  which  will 
ultimately  redound  to  the  interest  of  the  beet-sugar  industry  by  keeping 
the  land  in  better  condition  and  introducing  another  industry  that  will 
work  very  closely  with  it. 

THE    LOS    ALAMITOS   FACTORY. 

The  Los  Alamitos  Sugar  Company  was  organized  in  1887  by  W.  A.  & 
J.  Ross  Clarke,  of  Butte,  Montana.  The  factory  was  built  and  made  its 
first  sugar  in  the  same  year.  Los  Alamitos  is  located  about  thirty  miles 
southeast  of  Los  Angeles.  The  Bixby  Land  Company,  who  were,  and 
still  are,  the  principal  land-owners  in  the  region,  contracted  to  supply 
the  sugar  company  with  beets  for  a  series  of  years.  The  capacity  of  the 
factory  for  the  first  campaign  was  350  tons  per  day,  but  in  1898  it  was 
increased  to  700  tons.  The  factory  is  substantially  built  after  the  Dyer 
pattern,  and  is  well  equipped  for  the  successful  and  economical  manu- 
facture of  sugar.  The  soil  of  this  locality  at  the  time  of  the  location  of 
the  factory  was  in  a  virgin  condition  and  had  been  little  used,  except 
for  the  production  of  grass  for  pasturage.  In  the  first  year  3,000  acres 
were  broken  and  put  into  beets.  Within  six  months  a  town  of  five 
hundred  people  with  comfortable  homes  sprang  up  about  the  factory. 

The  first  campaign  was  a  successful  one  in  every  sense,  29,542  tons  of 
beets,  with  a  sugar  percentage  of  15.73  and  a  purity  of  82,  coming  from 
2,800  acres  of  land,  or  an  average  of  10.5  tons  per  acre.  From  these  was 
made  a  little  over  6,000,000  pounds  of  granulated  sugar,  or  2,143  pounds 
per  acre.  The  average  returns  per  acre  were  $43.68.  During  this  first 
season  a  number  of  crops  ran  over  20  per  cent  sugar  in  the  beet. 

The  subjoined  table  shows  the  tons  of  beets  and  their  quality  for  the 
several  years  the  factory  has  operated: 


Statistics  of 

TABLE  VI. 
Los  Alamitos  Factory. 

Year. 

Tons  of 
Beets  Cut. 

Sugar  in 
Beets. 

Purity. 

Length  of 
Campaign. 

1897 

29,542 
2,884 

11,086 
7,501 

56,005 

42,000 

15.73 
15.08 
16.48 
17.55 
17.08 
16.90 

81.99 
79.65 
82.60 
82.18 
82.80 
82.00 

120  days. 
7     " 
29     " 
31      " 

1898 

1899 

1900                        

1901 

1902 

181      " 

30 


UNIVERSITY   OF    CALIFORNIA — EXPERIMENT   STATION. 


*f 


I  -■-.■■ 


'^'.'4 


CALIFORNIA    SUGAR   INDUSTRY — LOS   ALAMITOS   FACTORY.  31 

During  the  drought  period  of  1898-1901,  this  factory  suffered  perhaps 
more  heavily  than  any  other  in  the  State  except  one,  which  may  par- 
tially be  accounted  for  from  the  fact  that  the  industry  was  entirely  new 
in  the  region  and  the  beets  were  not  planted  on  the  more  moist  land  in 
all  cases,  and  all  beets  located  on  the  more  sandy  soils  were  ruined. 
The  results  at  this  factory  have  not  been  as  encouraging  as  might  be 
expected  had  attention  been  given  to  securing  a  water  supply  for  irriga- 
tion of  the  crop.  Notwithstanding  the  success  that  has  attended  the 
growing  of  beets  by  irrigation  in  Utah  and  Colorado,  there  seems  to  be 
something  of  an  antipathy  to  the  practice  in  this  State;  but  to  one 
unprejudiced  in  the  matter  it  would  seem  to  be  the  essential  factor  for 
permanent  success  in  this  industry,  at  least  in  the  southern  part  of  the 
State.  At  present  the  governing  conditions  for  a  crop  in  this  locality 
seem  to  be  a  rainfall  of  from  8  to  10  inches  in  January,  February,  and 
March,  and  so  distributed  that  there  is  practically  no  "run  off."  In 
1898-1900  these  conditions  were  far  from  being  realized,  which  resulted 
in  a  greatly  reduced  crop. 

The  56,005  tons  of  beets  cut  in  1901  were  produced  on  6,000  acres  of 
land,  thus  giving  an  average  yield  of  9.3  tons  per  acre,  with  an  average 
sugar  content  of  17.2  and  a  purity  coefficient  of  82.5,  which  brought  an 
average  price  of  $4.50  per  ton,  or  a  total  of  $252,000  paid  to  the  farmers 
for  the  crop.  The  average  returns  per  acre  were  $41.85;  the  granulated 
sugar  produced  per  acre  2,000  pounds,  1  ton  of  beets  yielding  214  pounds 
of  sugar.  In  1902  the  results  w7ere  not  quite  equal  to  those  of  1901, 
in  either  quality  or  quantity  of  beets.  The  average  return  from  5,900 
acres  was  $38.50  per  acre  and  16.9  per  cent  sugar  in  the  beet. 

In  the  intermediate  years  between  1897  and  1901  the  acreage  grown 
and  the  yield  per  acre  were  quite  small,  because  of  the  drought,  and 
should  not  be  taken  as  a  fair  index  of  what  the  locality  can  do  in  beet 
production.  The  figures  plainly  show  that  high-grade  beets  can  be  pro- 
duced; but  unless  the  moisture  conditions  can  be  rendered  certain  the 
crop  is  likely  to  be  an  uncertain  one  in  this  locality.  For  this  reason  a 
strong  and  united  effort  on  the  part  of  both  growers  and  manufacturers 
should  be  made  to  develop  to  the  greatest  extent  possible  the  abundance 
of  artesian  water  which  evidently  lies  at  the  comparatively  small  depth 
of  from  300  to  600  feet.  Already  the  Bixby  Land  Company  has  some 
twenty-five  flowing  wells  upon  its  land,  and  is  preparing  to  irrigate 
extensively.  With  the  introduction  of  an  extensive  irrigation  practice 
investigations  should  be  made  as  to  the  best  methods  for  the  application 
of  water,  for  some  of  the  lands  are  inclined  to  be  quite  alkali  in  character 
and  unless  attention  be  given  to  this  phase  trouble  may  be  experienced 
from  the  rise  of  alkali.  Beets  should  be  kept  on  the  more  moist 
lands,  avoiding,  so  far  as  possible,  the  more  sandy  soils.  An  increase  of 
humus  in  the  soil  is  also  desirable,  and  the  introduction  of  green-manure 


32 


UNIVERSITY    OF    CALIFORNIA EXPERIMENT    STATION. 


crops  in  alternation  with  beets  would  materially  improve  the  conditions 
for  beet  culture  by  rendering  the  soil  more  retentive  of  moisture.  These 
matters  will  be  more  fully  discussed  in  Part  II  of  this  series. 


THE    CROCKETT    FACTORY. 


The  next  factory  erected  in  California  was  at  Crockett,  Contra  Costa 
County,  by  the  California  and  Hawaiian  Sugar  Refining  Company. 
The  factory  has  a  capacity  of  1,200  tons  of  beets  per  day.  The  com- 
pany devotes  the  principal  part  of  the  year  to  the  refining  of  cane  sugar 
brought  from  the  Hawaiian  Islands.  Its  supply  of  beets  is  not  drawn 
from  the  immediate  locality  of  the  factory,  but  from  lands  owned  or 
leased  by  the  company,  which  at  present  grows  practically  its  entire 
supply  in  several  widely  separated  regions,  viz.:  Bethany,  San  Joaquin 
County;  Suisun  and  Cordelia,  Solano  County;  Reclamation,  Sonoma 
County;  and  Concord  and  Osage,  Contra  Costa  County. 

The  factory,  having  been  built  in  1897,  has  had  nothing  like  a  fair 
field  for  securing  normal  results  until  1901.  The  results  of  the  1900 
and  1901  campaign  are  shown  below: 


TABLE  VII. 
Results  at  Crockett,  1900-1902. 


1900. 


1901. 


1902. 


Campaign  began . 

Campaign  ended 

Days  of  actual  operation 

Acres  of  beets  planted 

Acres  of  beets  harvested 

Tons  of  beets  worked 

Average  yield,  tons 

Average  sugar  content  of  beets,  per  cent 
Average  purity  of  juice,  percent...  .... 

Sugar  produced,  tons  ..  .. 


Aug.  1 

Oct.  15 

15 

5,800 

2,500 

8,704 

3.5 

19.4 

81.6 

1,328.7 


Aug.  15 
Nov.  10 


5,183 

25,112 

4.8 

17.5 

80.9 

3,083 


Aug.  15 
Nov.  6 

82 


5,046 

36,884 

7.3 

19  6 

83.2 

*5,870 


♦Estimated  by  the  writer. 

While  in  1901  the  conditions  were  somewhat  adverse  to  the  highest 
crop  production,  the  poor  general  showing  in  that  year  may  be  largely 
accounted  for  by  the  selection  of  land  at  the  outset  which  was  either 
poorly  adapted  or  entirely  unadapted  to  the  crop.  Much  of  this  has 
since  been  replaced  by  better  land,  and  in  1902  the  crop  was  much 
improved,  as  can  be  seen  from  the  table.  The  experience  of  this  com- 
pany in  the  production  of  beets  is  a  standing  example  for  those  who 
may  enter  the  industry  later,  that  it  is  not  every  locality  which  is 
adapted  to  the  production  of  sugar  beets,  however  good  shallow-rooting 
crops  it  may  produce. 


CALIFORNIA    SUGAR    INDUSTRY CROCKETT    FACTORY. 


33 


3— csi 


34 


UNIVERSITY    OF   CALIFORNIA— EXPERIMENT    STATION. 
THE    OXNARD    FACTORY. 


In  1897  the  Oxnards,  under  the  name  of  the  "Pacific  Beet  Sugar 
Company,"  began  the  erection  of  a  2,000-ton  plant  at  a  small  town  now 


called  Oxnard,  in  the  Santa  Clara  valley  of  Ventura  County,  some  three 
and  a  half  miles  from  the  ocean,  which  town  was  called  into  being  by 


CALIFORNIA    SUGAR    INDUSTRY— OXNARD    FACTORY.  35 

reason  of  the  factory  being  located  there,  and  now  bids  fair  to  become  a 
model  city  with  all  modern  improvements. 

With  the  organization  of  the  "American  Beet  Sugar  Company,"  which 
took  all  the  factories  operated  by  the  Oxnards,  this  factory  passed  to 
that  company  and  is  now  operated  by  the  former. 

Ventura  County  lies  along  the  coast  north  and  west  of  Los  Angeles 
and  east  of  Santa  Barbara.  The  region  is  noted  for  the  fertility  of  its 
soils,  which  in  numerous  instances  have  been  cropped  steadily  for 
thirty  years  without  fertilization  and  are  still  producing  remunerative 


PLATE  IX.    Artesian  Well  at  Oxnard. 

returns.  Along  the  streams  which  break  the  generally  rugged  surface 
of  the  county,  nestle  many  small  valleys,  some  high  and  broken,  others 
low  and  level,  but  all  fertile.  The  climatic  conditions  of  the  valley 
are  somewhat  unique.  In  general  the  land  is  only  a  few  feet  above  the 
level  of  the  sea,  and  the  physical  characteristics  of  the  soil  are  such  as 
to  render  them  very  retentive  of  moisture  precipitated  during  the  winter 
months,  and  lying  so  close  to  the  sea  the  natural  humidity  of  the  air 
reduces  evaporation  to  a  minimum.  Heavy  night  fogs  are  the  rule 
during  the  growing  season,  which  serve  in  a  measure  to  replace  the  little 
evaporation  that  does  take  place.  The  rainfall  has  usually  been  suffi- 
cient for  the  profitable  cultivation  of  crops  without  resorting  to  irriga- 


36 


UNIVERSITY    OF    CALIFORNIA — EXPERIMENT    STATION. 


tion.  The  heaviest  precipitation  during  a  period  of  twenty-seven  years 
was  38.4  inches,  in  1884;  and  the  lightest,  5.84  inches,  in  1898.  The 
normal  is  about  16  inches.  The  temperature  is  equable,  the  range  for 
the  growing  season  being  34°  to  63°. 


Should  future  experience  show  the  rainfall  to  be  too  uncertain  for  the 
crop,  the  ease  with  which  flowing  artesian  water  can  be  reached  at  from 
130  to  250  feet  will  solve  the  problem  of  an  abundant  water  supply  that 
will  render  the  farmers  independent  of  rainfall. 


CALIFORNIA    SUGAR    INDUSTRY — OXNARD    FACTORY.  37 

Along  the  shore  and  close  to  the  streams  the  soil  is  a  light  sandy 
loam,  and  on  the  low-lying  mesas  is  inclined  to  a  heavy  clay.  Between 
these  two  extremes  are  found  all  intermediate  grades.  In  general,  the 
soil  can  be  called  a  medium  sandy  loam,  rich  and  deep. 

It  is  considered  by  the  company  that  there  are  some  60,000  acres  of 
good  beet  land  tributary  to  this  factory  within  a  radius  of  twenty-five 
miles,  of  which  about  20,000  acres  are  considered  first  class  (capable  of 
producing  15  tons  or  over  per  acre);  25,000  acres  second  class  (capable 
of  producing  8  to  12  tons  per  acre);  the  balance  as  third  class,  some  of 
which  is  light  sandy  soil,  somewhat  alkali  in  character — in  some  cases 
gravelly — but  which,  properly  handled  and  in  favorable  seasons,  will 
give  good  returns  if  planted  to  beets.  The  better  class  of  land  is 
valued  at  from  $150  to  $300  per  acre;  the  second  class  at  from  $100  to 
$150;  and  the  lighter  soils  at  $75.  The  rental  of  land  for  beet-growing 
ranges  from  one  fifth  to  one  third  of  the  crop,  depending  upon  its  char- 
acter. In  addition  to  sugar  beets,  the  principal  crops  are  lima  beans, 
grain,  alfalfa,  and  English  walnuts. 

The  value  of  irrigation  not  only  for  beets,  but  also  for  other  crops, 
is  rapidly  being  realized,  notwithstanding  the  usually  fair  moisture 
conditions  of  the  region,  and  some  experiments  have  been  tried  in  the 
irrigation  of  beets  down  the  rows,  as  practiced  in  Utah  for  years  and  in 
Colorado  for  a  less  time,  with  so  much  success.  The  experiments  proved 
very  successful,  bringing  an  increased  yield  of  3  to  4  tons  per  acre.  It 
is  anticipated  that  the  method  will  be  largely  increased.  In  the  opin- 
ion of  the  writer,  based  on  wide  observation  and  experience,  it  is  the 
only  method  of  applying  water  to  the  beet  crop  that  will  meet  with 
favor  for  any  length  of  time,  as  giving  the  highest  returns  in  yield  and 
ease  of  cultivation.  On  land  properly  prepared  it  is  remarkable  as  to 
the  rapidity  with  which  the  work  can  be  done.  Farmers  growing  beets 
within  a  radius  of  the  Santa  Clara  ditch  system,  or  within  the  range 
of  an  artesian  well,  should  avail  themselves  of  a  trial  of  this  method, 
and  can  rest  assured  that  the  effect  will  abundantly  repay  them. 

For  a  further  discussion  of  this  subject  the  reader  is  referred  to  Part  II 
of  this  series,  which  will  appear  later. 

The  factory  is  well  called  the  "Model  beet-sugar  factory  of  America," 
for  while  it  may  be  surpassed  in  capacity  it  certainly  is  not  in  perfection 
of  appointment.  Under  one  colossal  roof  can  be  found  machine  and 
repair  shop,  engine-room,  lime-grinding  mills,  an  electric  plant,  ice 
manufactory,  and  scale  and  store  rooms,  all  accessory  to  the  main  work 
of  sugar  manufacture.  The  beets  are  received  in  four  parallel  sheds  or 
bins  of  regulation  form,  each  350  feet  long  and  holding  1,000  tons  each. 
The  beets  are  unloaded  by  means  of  nets,  on  which,  resting  in  the  wagon, 
the  beets  are  placed  in  the  field.  At  the  factory  the  nets  are  grasped  on 
one  side  by  iron  hooks  attached  to  a  beam  above,  and  by  means  of  block 


38 


UNIVERSITY    OF    CALIFORNIA  —  EXPERIMENT    STATION. 


and  tackle  connected  with  power,  the  beets  are  bodily  dumped  into  the 
bin.  The  main  building  of  brick  rises  93  feet  above  the  foundation 
and  extends  400  feet  in  length.  Connected  with  the  main  building  by 
a  corridor  is  a  fine  three-story  edifice,  in  which  are  located  the  offices 
and  extensive  laboratories. 

In  the  boiler-house,  100  by  300  feet,  at  the  rear  of  the  factory  proper, 
are  twenty-eight  steam  boilers — eight  high-pressure  and  twenty  low- 
pressure — of  7,000  horsepower,  burning  crude  oil  as  fuel;  this  is  supplied 
to  them  through  iron  tanks  located  some  230  yards  away,  and  which 
hold  30,000  barrels  each. 


PLATE  XL     Interior  of  Oxnard  Beet-Sugar  Factory. 


At  the  rear  of  the  factory  and  connected  with  it  are  two  immense 
limekilns,  one  rising  to  a  vertical  height  of  95  feet,  for  burning  lime- 
stone, and  the  other  a  revolving  horizontal  kiln  for  reburning  lime  from 
the  factory.  The  vertical  kiln  and  the  twin  steel  smokestacks,  each  36 
feet  in  circumference  and  154  feet  high,  stand  as  imposing  landmarks 
for  miles  around. 

The  factory  was  intended  to  work  the  crop  of  1898,  but  owing  to  the 
drought  of  that  year  the  company  decided  to  ship  the  beets  to  Chino, 
and  the  factory  did  not  make  its  first  campaign  until  1899. 


CALIFORNIA    SUGAR    INDUSTRY — SALINAS    FACTORY. 


39 


TABLE  IX. 
Results  at  Oxnard,  1897,  1900-1902. 


Acres  of  beets  harvested 

Tons  of  beets  produced _ 

Average  yield  per  acre,  tons 

Total  amount  paid  farmers  for  beets 

Average  price  per  ton 

Sugar  in  beets,  per  cent 

Purity  coefficient 

*Crude  sugar  per  acre,  lbs 

*Refined  sugar  per  acre,  lbs. — . 

*Crude  sugar  per  ton  of  beets,  lbs. 

*Refined  sugar  per  ton  of  beets,  lbs 

Campaign  began ... 

Campaign  closed 

Length  of  campaign,  days 

Average  returns  per  acre ... 


1897. 

1900. 

1901. 

1902. 

11,442 

6,238 

11,392 

17,690 

a  94,902 

b  63,010 

c 139,484 

d 176,512 

8.30 

10.12 

12.23 

9.98 

$438,447 

$190,558 

$673,708 

$849,022 

$4  62 

$4  77 

$4  83 

$4  81 

17.5 

17.8 

16.4 

15.8 

81.6 

81.0 

82.7 

79.8 

2,904 

3,603 

2,006 

3,164 

2,323 

2,882 

1,605 

2,531 

350 

356 

328 

316 

2S0 

285 

262 

253 

Aug.     8 

Aug.   15 

July    11 

July    19 

Oct.     17 

Oct.     18 

Nov.     9 

Dec.      1 

61 

65 

122 

134 

$38  35 

$48  26 

$59  08 

$47  90 

Average 
or  Total. 


46,762 

483,908 

10.2 

$537,934 

$4  77 

16.9 

81.2 

2,919 

2,335 

337 

270 


$48  19 


a  Of  which  31,510  tons  were  shipped  to  Chino. 
6  In  addition  to  which  we  received  from  Chino  4,154  tons. 
c  In  addition  to  which  we  received  from  Chino  24,376  tons. 
d  In  addition  to  which  we  received  from  Chino  12,206  tons. 
*  Estimated  by  the  writer. 

A  particular  point  to  note  here  is  the  very  high  average  sugar  per- 
centage. The  company,  at  present,  pays  upon  a  sliding  scale,  the  price 
depending  upon  the  sugar  content  of  the  beets,  and  in  consequence  a 
small  yield  in  tons  is  usually  offset  by  a  richer  beet,  which  brings  a 
larger  price  per  ton,  provided  always  that  this  lessened  tonnage  has  not 
resulted  from  a  too  scattering  stand  or  from  a  diseased  condition  of 
the  beets. 

For  the  four  years  the  factory  has  been  in  operation  the  average  yield 
has  been  10.16  tons  per  acre  on  46,769  acres,  and  the  average  price  per 
ton  $4.77,  thus  giving  an  average  return  per  acre  of  $48.19,  and  it  will 
be  remembered  that  this  period  includes  two  of  the  so-called  "dry 
years."  The  crop  for  1902  gave  a  total  of  more  beets,  but  not  so  large 
an  average  yield  as  in  1901.  Still  the  returns  per  acre  were  fair,  when 
measured  by  most  other  farm  crops. 


THE    SALINAS    FACTORY. 

While  the  erection  of  the  immense  plant  near  Salinas,  at  a  place  now 
known  as  Spreckels,  by  the  Spreckels  Sugar  Company,  which  also  con- 
trols the  Watsonville  factory,  was  begun  in  1897,  it,  like  the  Oxnard 
factory,  did  not  operate  until  the  following  year,  the  beets  being  worked 
at  Watsonville.  California  is  noted  for  doing  things  on  a  large  scale, 
and  in  keeping  with  this,  Mr.  Spreckels  has  erected  here  the  largest  beet- 
sugar  house  under  one  roof  in  the  world.     The  factory  has  a  total  rated 


40  UNIVERSITY   OF   CALIFORNIA — EXPERIMENT   STATION. 

capacity  of  3,000  tons  of  beets  per  twenty-four  hours.  It  practically  con- 
sists of  four  sets  of  m  jRhinery  under  one  roof.  The  factory  itself  is  a  model 
of  mechanical  ingenuity,  and  while  the  plant  at  Oxnard  was  erected  in 
the  same  year,  yet  this  factory  represents  an  entirely  different  type  of 
construction. 

Of  more  than  passing  interest  on  account  of  its  size,  it  demands  a 
brief  description: 

The  main  building  is  of  steel  and  brick  construction,  582  feet  long, 
102  feet  wide,  and  five  stories  high.  It  is  divided  into  three  parts,  the 
beet  end  of  the  house  containing  the  four  beet-screws,  beet-washers,  four 
beet-elevators,  four  beet-scales,  eight  cutters,  fifty-six  diffusion  cells,  in 
four  batteries  of  fourteen  cells  each,  four  weighing  tanks,  five  first  satura- 
tion tanks,  four  second  saturation  tanks,  filter  presses,  and  the  various 
heaters  and  pumps. 

In  the  center  of  the  building  are  the  two  sets  of  immense  quadruple- 
effect  evaporators,  side  by  side,  with  an  additional  set  of  double-effect 
evaporators,  while  in  the  sugar  end  are  found  the  vacuum-pan  tanks, 
the  seven  14-foot  vacuum-pans,  28-48  inch  centrifugal  machines,  forty- 
nine  crystallizers,  seven  mixers,  three  sugar-hoppers,  nine  sugar-packers, 
nine  sugar-conveyors,  nine  sack-conveyors  from  the  scales  to  the  railroad 
platform,  all  automatically  handled. 

The  engine-room  occupies  the  central  part  of  the  immense  building 
on  the  ground  floor,  and  contains  five  vacuum  pumps  (flywheels  20  feet 
in  diameter),  two  gas  pumps  (flywheels  20  feet  in  diameter),  six  sugar 
pumps,  one  beet  engine  (400  horsepower),  one  centrifugal  engine  (400 
horsepower),  four  electric  generators  direct-connected  (two  of  400  horse- 
power and  two  of  700  horsepower). 

Situated  next  to  the  main  building  on  the  east  is  the  boiler-house, 
559  feet  long,  68  feet  wide,  and  32  feet  high.  Here  are  to  be  found 
forty-eight  water  boilers  of  125  horsepower  each,  four  economizers,  two 
limekilns  (14  feet  diameter,  50  feet  high),  four  gas  washers,  one  lime 
elevator,  three  lime  mixers,  two  lime  settling-tanks,  one  lime  pump  for 
milk  or  lime,  four  feed  pumps  for  160  pounds  pressure  per  square  inch; 
and  connected  with  this  immense  boiler  plant  are  the  two  steel  stacks, 
each  216  feet  high  and  13  feet  in  diameter,  each  stack  weighing,  with 
its  brick  lining  and  base,  1,000  tons. 

Next  comes  the  machine  shop,  carpenter  shop,  and  storeroom,  559 
feet  long,  40  feet  wide,  32  feet  high.  The  three  buildings  are  of  fireproof 
construction  throughout;  no  woodwork  except  the  sheathing  underneath 
the  slate  on  the  roof.     All  floors  are  made  of  concrete. 

The  fuel  used  is  oil,  of  which  1,200  barrels  are  consumed  every 
twenty-four  hours. 

Two  oil  tanks  are  provided  for  storage,  each  77  feet  in  diameter  by  25 
feet  high,  each  having  a  capacity  of  20,000  barrels  or  850,000  gallons. 


CALIFORNIA    SUGAR    INDUSTRY — SALINAS    FACTORY 


41 


42  UNIVERSITY    OF    CALIFORNIA — EXPERIMENT    STATION. 

Water  is  provided  partly  from  six  wells,  48  inches  in  diameter  and  160 
feet  deep,  each  giving  an  abundance  of  beautiful  clear  water,  and  partly 
from  the  Salinas  River,  whence  it  is  pumped  through  a  mile  of  32-inch 
steel  riveted  pipe  by  two  centrifugal  pumps,  each  pump  having  a 
capacity  of  10,000,000  gallons  per  twenty-four  hours,  and  each  operated 
by  a  200  horsepower  direct-connected  electric  motor.  In  all,  about 
13,000  gallons  is  the  daily  consumption,  though  pumps  are  in  duplicate 
and  can  handle  twice  that  quantity. 

At  the  extreme  end  of  the  boiler-house,  in  a  third  section,  but  under 
its  roof,  has  been  erected  an  innovation  in  engineering  skill  and  mechan- 
ical work,  which  is  in  operation  in  Salinas  for  the  first  time  in  the 
world.  This  new  idea  consists  of  two  enormous  steel  limekilns,  which 
stand  upon  an  open  iron  framework  base,  some  4  feet  high,  and  then 
tower  up  through  a  circular  opening  in  the  roof  to  a  height  of  52  feet. 
These  kilns  are  15  feet  6  inches  in  diameter,  lined  with  brick  and  con- 
crete. 

Thirty  feet  above  the  kilns,  or  86  feet  in  the  air,  is  an  aerial  electric 
railway,  640  feet  long,  supported  by  spans  of  140  feet  each.  Over  this 
railway,  in  buckets  of  five-ton  capacity,  is  conveyed  the  limestone  from 
the  river  bank  to  the  top  of  the  kilns. 

The  country  tributary  to  this  factory  is  estimated  to  contain  about 
90,000  acres  suitable  for  the  production  of  beets.  The  selection  of  this 
valley  as  a  site  for  this  immense  plant  was  the  result  of  years  of  experi- 
menting on  the  part  of  Mr.  Claus  Spreckels.  The  Watsonville  factory 
had  for  years  received  many  beets  from  the  Salinas  Valley,  and  on 
account  of  the  generally  excellent  results  from  there,  attention  was 
directed  toward  it  as  being  exceedingly  well  adapted  to  beet  culture. 
Vast  tracts  were  purchased  and  have  been  subdivided  into  small  farms, 
which  are  leased  to  growers  on  the  share  system. 

The  great  Salinas  Valley,  some  15  miles  wide  at  Salinas  City, 
embraces  about  640,000  acres  of  agricultural  land,  which  is  practically 
all  of  the  arable  land  in  Monterey  County.  Of  this  there  are  now  some 
185,000  acres  under  cultivation.  In  point  of  fertility  the  valley  is  not 
surpassed  by  any  other  in  the  State.  Along  the  Salinas  River,  which 
traverses  the  valley,  and  the  other  streams,  the  soil  is  a  very  rich  dark 
alluvium,  which  farther  back  gives  place  to  a  somewhat  lighter  loam, 
very  deep  and  easily  worked;  then  come  tablelands  highly  prized  for 
grain  culture;  and  finally  the  uplands. 

Until  the  introduction  of  beet  culture,  barley,  wheat,  potatoes,  and 
white  beans  were  the  principal  crops  of  the  region,  the  barley  and 
potatoes  being  principally  grown  upon  the  lower  land  and  wheat  upon 
the  benchland. 

In  a  continuous  record  of  twenty-eight  years,  the  temperature  has 
never  reached    100°  as   a  maximum,  nor  has  it  fallen  below  20°  as  a 


CALIFORNIA    SUGAR    INDUSTRY SALINAS    FACTORY.  43 

minimum.  The  rainfall  is  normally  13.50  inches,  practically  all  com- 
ing in  December,  January,  and  February.  Sometimes  it  is  over  20 
inches,  and  has  reached  as  high  as  27  inches.  The  moisture  conditions 
here  also  include  heavy  sea  fogs,  but  in  a  somewhat  less  degree  than  at 
Watsonville  and  Oxnard. 

The  soil  is  rich  in  humus  and  very  retentive  of  moisture.  On  this 
account  and  because  the  rainfall  is  generally  sufficient  to  mature  a  crop, 
irrigation  has  not  been  much  practiced,  but,  as  at  Oxnard,  is  bound  to 
become  a  factor  in  beet-growing,  and  in  a  crude  way  is  even  now  being 
more  or  less  resorted  to  in  a  few  cases. 

The  officials  of  the  company  declined  to  give  the  figures  upon  which 
to  base  tables  similar  to  those  which  have  preceded,  and  the  writer  has, 
therefore,  been  obliged  to  seek  such  information  as  possible  from  other 
sources  which  he  deemed  reliable.  It  is  believed  that  the  data  given  are 
to  be  relied  upon  as  giving  a  very  close  idea  as  to  the  capabilities  of  the 
region  and  the  extent  of  the  industry  which  has  been  developed. 

Several  smaller  valleys  leading  off  from  the  larger  one  furnish  many 
beets  for  this  great  factory;  for  example,  in  1901  and  1902  beets  for  the 
factory  were  received  as  follows: 

1901.  1902. 

Salinas  Valley 141,280  tons  96,543  tons 

Pajaro  Valley 85,910    "  59,747    " 

San  Juan  Valley 27,620    "  31,574    " 

Santa  Clara  Valley ....16,512    "  10,184    " 

Totals 271,322    "  197,948    " 

The  beets  in  1901  averaged  16.5  per  cent  sugar,  purity  82.5,  and 
brought  $4.50  per  ton  at  the  factory,  or  $1,153,118,  and  from  them  was 
made  about  57,400,000  pounds  of  sugar.  The  campaign  began  Septem- 
ber 5th  and  continued  until  January  8th — 122  days.  The  average 
yield  was  13.8  tons  per  acre,  giving  a  return  of  $62.10.  Estimating  the 
sugar  per  acre  and  per  ton  in  the  same  manner  as  in  the  former  cases, 
we  have: 

Crude  sugar  per  acre 4,400  lbs. 

Refined  sugar  per  acre 3,520  " 

Crude  sugar  per  ton  of  beets 330  " 

Refined  sugar  per  ton  of  beets 264  " 

The  tonnage  for  1902  was  197,948  from  17,530  acres  of  land,  from  which 
was  made  21,607  tons  of  sugar,  the  price  for  beets  being  $4.50  per  ton. 
The  campaign  extended  from  September  9th  to  December  22d. 

In  the  first  campaign  the  factory  sliced  about  175,000  tons  of  beets, 
but  in  1900  the  crop  was  damaged  by  drought,  and  still  more  seriously 
injured  by  a  disease  of  the  plants,  which  is  supposed  to  have  been 
induced  by  the  exceedingly  dry  weather  of  that  season. 


44  UNIVERSITY    OF    CALIFORNIA EXPERIMENT    STATION. 


THE    BETTERAVIA    FACTORY. 


The  last  factory  built  in  the  State  was  by  the  Union  Sugar  Company 
at  Betteravia,  a  town  in  the  Santa  Maria  Valley,  Santa  Barbara  County, 
called  into  existence  by  reason  of  the  location  of  the  factory  there,  in 
the  dry  year  of  1899.  The  company  was  organized  by  the  same  parties 
interested  in  the  Alvarado  factory.  The  factory  has  a  rated  capacity 
of  500  tons  per  day,  but  with  a  building  so  arranged  as  to  admit  of 
doubling  the  capacity  of  machinery. 

The  supply  of  beets  is  received  from  the  Santa  Maria  arid  Arroyo 
Grande  and  adjacent  smaller  valleys.  The  total  area  of  good  beet  land 
is  estimated  by  the  company  as  about  100,000  (?)  acres. 


PLATE  XIII.    Betteravia  Beet-Sugar  Factory.    Capacity,  500  Tons. 

The  Santa  Maria  Valley  lies  in  the  northern  portion  of  Santa  Barbara 
County,  and  together  with  Lompoc,  Los  Alamos,  and  Santa  Ynez,  all 
smaller  valleys,  comprise  the  main  part  of  the  acreage  in  the  county. 
The  southern  part  of  the  county  is  called  the  Santa  Barbara  Valley  in 
general,  and  comprises  Carpinteria,  Montecito,  Goleta,  and  Ellwood.  It 
is  from  the  northern  part  of  the  county  that  the  beets  are  received.  The 
soils  of  the  valley  have  a  reddish  sandy  and  gravelly  character  from 
Fugler's  Point  westward  to  within  four  miles  of  the  town  of  Santa 
Maria,  where  they  change  to  a  grayish  character.  Still  westward  toward 
the  sugar  factory  they  become  more  loamy  in  character,  and  it  is  upon 
these  loam  soils  that  the  best  results  with  beets  have  been  secured. 

This  loam  soil  with  proper  moisture  should  be  productive  of  all  crops 
suitable  to  that  climate,  for  it  is  well  supplied  with  potash,  phosphoric 
acid,  and  humus.     Its  lime  content  is  somewhat  low. 


CALIFORNIA    SUGAR    INDUSTRY BETTERAVIA    FACTORY. 


45 


Abundance  of  water  lies  at  a  depth  of  from  40  to  75  feet,  but  can  not 
be  had  as  flowing  artesian  water.  If  irrigation  is  practiced  it  must  be 
by  pumping. 

The  valley  of  Arroyo  Grande,  in  the  southern  part  of  San  Luis  Obispo 
County,  is  noted  among  seedsmen  of  the  United  States  as  being  capable 
of  producing  seeds  of  maximum  value.  The  soil  for  the  most  part  is  a 
heavy  dark  clay,  gradually  becoming  more  sandy  until  it  finally  ends 
in  the  sandhills  of  the  coast.  The  water  capacity  of  the  land  is  very 
great,  reaching  as  high  as  77  per  cent  by  weight.  The  soil  is  very  rich 
in  all  the  elements  of  plant  food. 

The  climatic  conditions  in  these  regions  do  not  differ  materially  from 
those  described  for  other  sections  of  southern  California,  except  perhaps 
having  a  somewhat  greater  rainfall  than  those  in  the  extreme  south, 
which,  taken  together  with  the  high  moisture-holding  power  of  the  soil, 
particularly  in  the  Arroyo  Grande  Valley,  is  particularly  favorable. 

With  the  other  factories  in  the  southern  area  this  factory  suffered 
much  from  the  drought  years  of  1899  and  1900.  While  6,500  acres  of 
beets  were  planted  the  first  year  and  the  early  part  of  the  season  looked 
very  favorable,  later  the  conditions  became  such  that  but  3,500  acres 
were  harvested,  which  gave  but  16,000  tons  of  beets,  and  the  factory  ran 
but  58  days.  The  season  of  1900  gave  correspondingly  low  returns,  but 
in  1901  conditions  were  more  nearly  normal,  and  from  3,461  acres  were 
produced  35,898  tons  of  beets,  or  10.36  tons  per  acre,  with  a  sugar  con- 
tent of  15  per  cent  and  a  purity  of  80,  giving  the  factory  a  run  of  95  days. 
A  tabulated  statement  of  the  factory  operations  is  shown  below: 

TABLE  XII. 

Betteravia  Field  and  Factory  Statistics,  1899-1902. 


1899. 

1900. 

1901. 

3,638 

2,933 

3,461 

16,664 

12,419 

35,898 

4.58 

4.23 

10.36 

$71,655 

$49  676 

$165,131 

$4  30 

$4  00 

$4  60 

15.7 

17.7 

14.9 

77.0 

81.0 

79.8 

1,438 

1,497 

3,087 

1,150 

1,198 

2,470 

314 

354 

298 

251 

283 

236 

Sept.  20 

Sept.  10 

Sept.     3 

Dec.      6 

Nov.    10 

Dec.    19 

77 

61 

108 

$19  69 

$16  92 

$47  66 

1902. 


Acres  of  beets  harvested __ 

Tons  of  beets  produced 

Average  yield  per  acre,  tons 

Total  amount  paid  farmers  for  beets 

Average  per  ton 

Sugar  in  beets,  per  cent 

Purity  coefficient 

*Crude  sugar  per  acre,  lbs. ... 

*Rerlned  sugar  per  acre,  lbs. 

*Crude  sugar  per  ton  of  beets,  lbs.  .. 
*Refined  sugar  per  ton  of  beets,  lbs. 

Campaign  began 

Campaign  closed 

Length  of  campaign,  days 

Average  return  s  per  acre — 

"^Estimated  by  the  writer. 


3,192 

37,218 

11.70 


15.7 

78.6 

3,680 

2,944 

314 

251 

July  21 

Nov.    4 

106 


46  UNIVERSITY    OF   CALIFORNIA — EXPERIMENT    STATION. 

At  present  the  company  itself  grows  about  one  half  of  its  supply  of 
beets  on  owned  or  rented  land.  Land  for  beet-growing  rents  for  from 
$6  to  $8  cash,  or  from  one  fifth  to  one  fourth  the  crop,  and  ranges  in 
price  from  $75  to  $150  per  acre. 

It  would  hardly  be  just  to  the  region  to  make  any  comparison  of 
returns  per  acre,  for  two  out  of  the  three  years  during  which  the  factory 
has  operated  the  climatic  conditions  have  been  worse  than  any  previous 
ones  in  the  history  of  the  State.  With  anything  like  a  favorable  year 
the  locality  is  sure  to  give  both  excellent  yields  and  good  quality  of 
beets,  which  was  well  illustrated  in  1901  and  is  again  evidenced  this 
season,  the  crop  being  estimated  at  about  40,000  tons  from  about  4,000 
acres. 


GENERAL  CONSIDERATION  OF  THE  SUGAR  INDUSTRY. 

Advantages  Accruing  from  Beet  Culture. — Collecting  some  of  the  more 
important  items  for  a  more  comprehensive  view  of  the  status  of  the 
industry  in  the  State  in  general,  particularly  upon  the  agricultural  side 
since  1888,  we  find  that  on  a  total  of  326,000  acres  there  has  been  an 
average  production  of  9.8  tons  of  beets  per  acre  annually,  giving  an 
average  return  of  over  $44  per  acre,  or  a  net  profit  of  about  $14  per  acre, 
which  certainly  compares  favorably  with  other  crops  grown  in  the 
State.  A  like  number  of  acres  devoted  to  wheat  and  most  other  agri- 
cultural crops  for  the  same  period  would  have  produced  a  decidedly  less 
return  per  acre,  if  average  price  and  yield  per  acre  be  taken  as  the 
basis.*  The  figures  above  stated  can  not  be  taken  as  the  entire  value, 
for  there  should  be  included  the  better  condition  in  which  the  land  is 
left  for  the  growth  of  other  crops,  provided  the  beet  crop  is  properly 
handled  by  returning  the  tops  to  the  field  either  by  plowing-under  or 
feeding  them  and  returning  the  manure  to  the  field.  This,  of  course,  is 
difficult  to  express  in  money  value.  It  is  pertinent,  however,  to  say 
that  in  Europe  the  increased  production  of  cereals  resulting  from  beet 
culture  has  been  shown  to  be  very  material,  as  will  appear  below. 

The  ten-year  average  crop  from  a  625-acre  farm  growing  cereals  was 
5,736  bushels  of  grain  before  beet  culture  was  introduced.  After  beet 
culture  was  introduced  125  acres  were  planted  each  year  with  sugar 
beets;  the  average  crop  of  grain  from  the  remaining  500  acres  was  5,730 
bushels  yearly,  being  a  clear  gain  of  the  product  from  125  acres. 
Thirty-five  other  farms  showed  the  following  increase  after  the  intro- 
duction of  beet  culture,  in  a  ten-year  average: 


*  As  against  the  above  figure  it  is  notable  that  the  gross  return  from  all  cultivable 
land  in  this  country  in  1901  was  less  than  $10  per  acre,  and  for  cereals  was  but  a  little 
over  $8  per  acre;  while  crops  of  beets  yielding  as  high  as  $25  to  $30  per  acre  were  not 
at  all  uncommon. 


CALIFORNIA    SUGAR    INDUSTRY — GENERAL    CONSIDERATION.  47 

TABLE  XIII. 

Showing  Increase  in  Various  Crops  Due  to  Introduction  of  Beet  Culture. 

Average  Pounds  per  Acre. 

Before.  After.  Increase. 

Wheat 1,848  2,128  280 

Rye... - -     1,456  1,672  116 

Barley ----     1,672  2,094  322 

Oats 1,355  1,918  563 

Peas 985  1,834  949 

Potatoes - --   11,716  13,569  1,853 

It  is  said  that  there  has  been  an  increase  of  about  21  per  cent  in  all 
crops  in  Germany  and  Austria-Hungary  in  consequence  of  sugar-beet 
culture. 

There  would  seem  to  be  four  very  valid  reasons  why  farmers  should 
turn  more  attention  to  the  beet  crop: 

1.  It  is  a  cash  crop,  with  a  price  practically  fixed. 

2.  It  is  one  of  the  surest  crops  a  farmer  can  grow,  if  given  the  requi- 
site care. 

3.  There  is  more  money  in  it  than  in  most  other  crops,  if  it  be  grown 
under  proper  conditions. 

4.  It  increases  the  production  of  other  crops,  because  of  the  deeper 
cultivation. 

The  business  has  often  been  given  a  setback  in  new  regions  by  the  too 
ardent  claims  of  promoters,  who  have  either  encouraged  the  growing  of 
beets  upon  soils  not  at  all  adapted  to  the  crop,  or  have  encouraged 
farmers,  entirely  ignorant  of  its  exacting  requirements,  to  contract  for  a 
much  larger  acreage  than  they  could  possibly  handle,  the  inevitable 
result  being  failure  and  disappointment.  These  failures  do  not  at  all 
reflect  upon  the  industry  as  such,  but  are  causes  of  serious  loss  to  both 
factory  and  farmer.  It  is  far  better  for  a  factory  to  have  a  smaller 
acreage  grown,  and  have  it  grown  successfully,  than  to  have  a  large  one 
coupled  with  a  partial  failure.  This  matter  is  particularly  pertinent 
in  localities  where  the  industry  is  being  inaugurated,  and  should  receive 
the  most  careful  attention  of  managers  of  new  factories.  A  factory  has 
a  much  brighter  prospect  for  ultimate  success  if  it  secures  few  acres  dis- 
tributed among  a  large  number  of  small  farmers  than  with  a  larger 
number  of  acres  grown  by  a  few  contractors.  This  is  one  of  the  potent 
reasons  of  the  success  in  Utah.  The  industry  is  notably  one  for  the 
small  farmer,  who  should  be  encouraged  to  turn  attention  to  the  crop 
as  generally  a  remunerative  one;  but  there  is  no  royal  road  to  riches, 
even  through  the  sweetness  of  the  sugar  beet. 

A  Review  of  the  1901  Campaign. — The  season  of  1901  may  be  con- 
sidered as  having  been  generally  favorable  to  the  industry  not  only  in 
California  but  elsewhere  as  well.     Below  will  be  found  a  table  showing 


48 


UNIVERSITY    OF    CALIFORNIA EXPERIMENT    STATION. 


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CALIFORNIA    SUGAR    INDUSTRY GENERAL    CONSIDERATION. 


49 


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50  UNIVERSITY    OF    CALIFORNIA — EXPERIMENT    STATION. 

collective  results  for  the  California  factories  for  that  year  and  also  simi- 
lar results  for  factories  in  other  States.  It  will  be  noted  that  the  con- 
ditions are  generally  reported  as  fair,  and  especially  is  this  true  for  the 
leading  sugar-producing  States — California,  Michigan,  Colorado,  and 
Utah.  Although  the  results  are  reduced  to  average  per  ton  or  acre,  as 
the  case  may  be,  yet  it  is  hardly  just  to  compare  the  States  having  but 
a  limited  acreage  and  but  a  single  factory  with  those  where  several 
factories  are  located.  For  the  sake  of  complete  records,  however,  the 
figures  from  all  the  States  are  included. 

It  will  be  noted  that  Michigan  cultivated  a  larger  number  of  acres  than 
California,  but  the  total  tons  of  beets  produced  was  less  by  35,000.  In 
the  average  yield  per  acre  California  with  11.09  tons  is  surpassed  only 
by  Utah  with  11.45  tons,  and  if  we  exclude  the  two  localities  in  Cali- 
fornia in  which  the  conditions  are  reported  as  poor,  it  would  give  her 
an  average  of  12.6  tons  per  acre,  or  an  average  of  one  ton  per  acre  more 
than  produced  in  any  other  State,  which  may  be  taken  as  a  fair  index 
of  her  producing  power  when  moisture  conditions  are  at  all  favorable. 

To  maintain  her  high  producing  power  attention  must  be  given  to  the 
matter  of  irrigation;  it  is  the  only  way  in  which  the  fickleness  of 
climate  can  be  overcome.  Given  climate,  and  the  farmer  is  largely 
independent  of  the  soil  question  when  rational  methods  of  culture  are 
observed. 

It  is  interesting  to  note  that  the  average  price  per  ton  is  the  same  in 
all  States,  $4.50.  But  in  this  connection  it  should  also  be  noted  that 
the  Eastern  factories  are  paying  more  for  their  raw  material,  when  the 
quality  is  considered;  in  other  words,  it  is  costing  them  more  per  ton  of 
sugar. 

When  the  season's  returns  per  acre  to  the  farmer  be  considered,  Utah 
with  $51.55,  again  is  the  only  State  which  exceeds  California  with  $49.94, 
but  it  has  probably  cost  her  that  much  more  to  irrigate  her  land,  this 
extra  cost,  however,  being  well  spent  in  order  to  make  sure  of  a  crop, 
a  condition  which  is  devoutly  to  be  wished  for  in  California.  Given  a 
favorable  season,  and  there  is  probably  not  a  State  that  can  surpass 
California  (even  if  any  can  equal  her)  in  the  number  of  tons  of  high- 
grade  beets  that  can  be  produced  per  acre. 

The  Cost  of  Manufacture. — Turning  attention  to  a  phase  of  the 
industry  which  appeals  to  the  business  man,  we  find  that  643,454  tons 
of  beets  produced  71,974  tons  of  sugar,  or  8.9  tons  of  beets  to  one  ton  of 
sugar.  The  cost  of  producing  this  sugar  for  each  factory  can  not  be 
exactly  stated,  nor  would  it  be  just  to  the  individual  factory  to  do  so. 
Attention  should  be  called,  however,  to  some  figures  along  this  line  that 
recently  appeared  in  the  report  of  Mr.  C.  F.  Saylor  on  "  The  Progress 
of  the  Beet-Sugar  Industry  in  the  United  States  for  1901,"  page  36, 
under  the  head  ''Cost  of  working  one  ton  of  beets,"  from  which  very 


CALIFORNIA    SUGAR    INDUSTRY — GENERAL    CONSIDERATION. 


51 


erroneous  conclusions  might  be  drawn.  The  writer  there  states  only  the 
cost  of  labor  (factory),  fuel,  and  limestone,  mentioning  no  other  items 
which  enter  into  the  cost  of  working  a  ton  of  beets,  and  leading  one  to 
infer  that  from  these  items  we  might  arrive  at  a  close  estimate  of  the 
cost  of  making  one  ton  of  sugar.  A  practical  factory  man,  however, 
knows  that  this  does  not  include  many  items  which  always  enter  into 
the  cost  of  sugar  production.  Any  just  estimate  must  include  many 
other  things  which  involve  a  heavy  annual  outlay  and  must  be  charged 
to  the  season's  run.  Among  these  are  sacks,  coke,  filter  cloth,  knives, 
oil,  soda,  tallow,  acid,  and  repairs,  all  of  which  would  easily  amount  to 
50  cents  per  ton  of  beets. 

Limiting  ourselves  to  California  conditions  and  basing  our  figures 
now  simply  on  the  handling  of  the  beets  in  the  mill,  the  statement  of 
factory  expenses  would  stand  about  as  follows: 

Per  Ton  of  Beets. 

Labor  .... —    $0,912 

Fuel 379 

Limestone. .239 

Miscellaneous  supplies  .. .500 

$2,030 
Cost  of  beets 4.500 


$6,530 


While  the  above  expresses  in  a  very  general  way  the  factory  expenses, 
yet,  as  a  matter  of  fact,  there  are  still  other  items  which  must  be 
included,  for,  outside  of  a  company's  field  operation,  the  cost  of  manu- 
facture must  actually  stand  a  certain  allowance  for  depreciation  and 
changes,  which  is  usually  considered  to  be  about  7  per  cent  on  the 
original  cost,  or  $1,089  per  ton  of  beets;  there  must  also  be  added  at 
least  80  cents  per  ton  of  beets  for  interest,  taxes,  and  insurance,  and 
approximately  5  cents  per  ton  for  selling  expense.  This  makes  a  total 
of  $8,469  per  ton  of  beets,  or  according  to  the  figures  for  the  tons  of  beets 
per  ton  of  sugar,  $74.37  per  ton  of  refined  sugar. 

In  connection  with  the  above  some  researches  of  Mr.  Paul  Doerstling, 
a  well-known  German  authority  and  contributor  to  American  and 
European  sugar  journals,  into  the  cost  of  sugar  production  in  various 
countries,  is  interesting.     Mr.  Doerstling's  compilation  shows  as  follows: 


Beet  Sugar. 


Tons  Beets 
per  Acre. 


Tons  Sugar 
per  Acre. 


Cost  of 

Sugar 

per  Ton. 


Germany 

Austria 

France 

Russia -. 

General  average 


12.5 
9.3 

10.9 
7.2 


10.0 


1.2 
1.1 
1.2 

0.8 


1.07 


$49  00 
47  00 
58  00 
60  00 


$53  50 


52 


UNIVERSITY    OF   CALIFORNIA — EXPERIMENT    STATION. 

Cane  Sugar. 


Tons  Cane 
per  Acre. 

Tons  Sugar 
per  Acre. 

Cost  of 
Sugar 
1  per  Ton. 

17 

0.9 

$55  00 

15.5 

1.3 

78  00 

32 

3.0 

38  00 

20 

1.6 

41  00 

19 

1.9 

45  00 

21 

1.9 

69  00 

22 

1.9 

75  00 

24 

1.8 

40  00 



1.0 

36  00 

22 

2.8 

39  00 

13 

1.0 

62  00 



1.7 

47  00 



1.7 

29  00 

20 

2.0 

28  00 

20 

1.75 

$62  00 

Spain... 

Japan 

Java 

Straits  Settlement.. 

Egypt... 

Reunion 

Louisiana 

Cuba 

East  Indies 

Hawaii .. 

Argentina 

British  West  Indies 

Queensland 

Porto  Rico 

General  average . 


Mr.  Doerstling's  figures  refer  to  the  manufacture  of  raw  sugar,  and  to 
make  them  comparable  with  those  for  California,  must  have  the  cost  of 
refining  added. 

The  selling  price  of  this  sugar  in  1901  did  not  vary  much  from  $80 
per  ton,  thus  giving  a  profit  of  only  about  $5.63  per  ton,  or  a  total  profit 
of  but  $405,213,  or  about  4  per  cent  on  the  investment  in  the  factories 
in  the  State,  which,  under  fair  years  of  production,  may  be  considered  a 
minimum,  as  sugar  has  ruled  at  its  lowest  figure  during  this  period. 
With  sugar  at  5  cents  it  would  mean  about  18  per  cent,  which,  when  all 
attendant  risks  are  considered,  can  not  be  considered  excessive.  It 
should  be  stated,  however,  that  so  favorable  a  season  as  1901,  and  a  high 
average  price  for  sugar,  do  not  often  occur  together,  and  that  even  in 
favorable  seasons  this  higher  profit  should  be  cut  in  two  as  representing 
fair  average  returns  to  the  factory. 

It  should  be  distinctly  understood  that  in  this  estimate  there  is  drawn 
a  sharp  distinction  between  the  purely  manufacturing  and  the  agricul- 
tural operations  which  are  often  conducted  by  the  companies  themselves 
and  enter  into  any  final  profit  or  loss  to  the  company.  The  growing  of 
sugar  beets  is  distinctly  a  business  for  the  small  farmer,  and  it  is  very 
questionable  whether  any  company  can  produce  beets  as  cheaply,  even 
under  the  most  favorable  conditions,  as  can  the  individual  grower  with 
a  smaller  acreage,  and  consequent  closer  supervision  of  work.  With 
the  least  laxity  in  supervision  it  becomes  a  very  easy  matter  for  a  com- 
pany to  lose  in  the  field  all  that  is  really  made  in  the  factory,  and  the 
manufacture  of  sugar  forced  to  bear  the  burden  of  field  losses.  The 
economic  production  of  sugar  in  the  field  is  a  far  more  intricate  matter 
than  the  extraction  of  it  in  the  factory,  and  demands  an  entirely  separate 
consideration. 


CALIFORNIA    SUGAR    INDUSTRY — GENERAL   CONSIDERATION.  53 

Often  it  is  not  considered  that  the  profit  from  the  manufacture  of 
sugar  may  be  materially  influenced  after  the  crop  is  grown,  and  espe- 
cially so  in  case  a  flat  price  is  paid  for  the  beets,  which  practice  much 
prevails  in  this  State.  Warm,  moist  weather  during  harvest  time — a 
condition  which  not  infrequently  obtains  in  the  northern  part  of  this 
State — invariably  causes  a  serious  loss  in  sugar.  A  case  in  point  is 
stated  by  one  of  the  factories : 

Average  Percentage  of  Sugar  in  Beet. 

1894— September 13.6 

October . 12.8 

November 10.8 

December _.. 10.5 

While  in  the  same  months  the  year  previous  the  figures  were  13.4,  14.4, 
14.7,  14.9. 

When  all  things  are  considered,  it  must  be  admitted  that  when  a  flat 
price  of  $4.50  per  ton  is  offered  for  beets  the  factory  is  offering  as  large 
a  price  as  it  can  afford  with  sugar  as  fluctuating  as  it  has  been  in  recent 
years,  and  with  political  conditions  as  unsettled  in  the  sugar  world  as 
they  are  at  the  present  time. 

A  careful  survey  of  the  conditions  as  they  exist  to-day  can  lead  to 
but  one  conclusion,  viz.,  that  the  industry  is  generally  in  a  healthy 
status  from  both  the  manufacturing  and  the  agricultural  standpoints, 
and  that  the  only  thing  which  can  possibly  prevent  California  from  ulti- 
mately maintaining  her  position  as  the  leading  beet-sugar-producing 
State  is  the  fickleness  of  her  climate  with  respect  to  moisture,  or  unfav- 
orable Congressional  action.  With  a  more  extensive  introduction  of 
irrigation  into  her  agricultural  and  horticultural  practice  this  single 
drawback  will  disappear,  and  we  may  reasonably  expect  to  see  a  great 
expansion  of  the  industry. 

The  capital  necessary  for  building  factories  is  abundant.  There  are 
perhaps  now  in  this  country  several  million  dollars  awaiting  investment 
in  beet-sugar  factories  just  as  soon  as  investors  can  be  assured  of  the 
cooperation  of  farmers  in  suitable  localities. 

Not  California  alone,  but  the  entire  country  is  interested  in  the  per- 
manent establishment  of  the  beet-sugar  industry  in  those  districts 
which  are  best  adapted  for  it,  and  under  those  conditions  which  will  best 
conduce  to  the  upbuilding  of  a  prosperous  trade. 

What  California  Can  Do  in  Beet  Sugar. — It  is  not  the  purpose  to  dis- 
cuss the  individual  localities  in  California  which  may  be  suitable  for 
the  location  of  factories.  Numerous  localities,  however,  are  known  to 
possess  the  requirements  for  success  in  the  industry.  In  a  very  general 
way  we  may  say,  quoting  Professor  Hilgard  in  "  Pacific  Rural  Press," 
December,  1897,  that  "the  total  valley  areas  of  this  State  exceed  12,000,000 
acres.     Estimating  the  sugar  product  per  acre  at  the  reasonable  rate  of 


54  UNIVERSITY    OF   CALIFORNIA — EXPERIMENT   STATION. 

1|  tons  of  sugar  per  acre,  it  would  require  only  1,125,000  acres,  or  less 
than  one  tenth  of  the  entire  valley  area,  to  produce  the  2,000,000  tons 
of  sugar  estimated  to  be  the  present  annual  consumption  of  the  United 
States.  But  with  the  successful  use  of  irrigation,  a  considerably  larger 
proportion  than  this  consists  of  lands  intrinsically  suitable  for  sugar- 
beet  culture,  so  as  to  admit  also  of  a  proper  rotation  of  crops.  California 
alone,  then,  could  readily  supply  the  entire  present  and  prospective 
sugar  consumption  of  the  United  States,  and  still  leave  ample  room  for 
orchards  and  vineyards  and  the  production  of  the  home  supply  of 
breadstuffs.  It  is  perhaps  not  probable  or  desirable  that  this  one  branch 
of  production  should  be  pushed  to  this  extent;  but  it  would  be  strange 
indeed  if,  with  such  extraordinary  climatic  advantages,  it  failed  to  attain 
a  more  prominent  and  lucrative  position  among  the  agricultural  indus- 
tries of  California  than  at  the  present  time.  Climatic  considerations 
as  well  as  soil  quality  point  especially  to  the  valleys  of  the  coast  region, 
from  Mendocino  to  Los  Angeles,  and  the  Sacramento  and  lower  San 
Joaquin  valleys,  as  adapted  to  it.  Excessive  heat  and  dryness  in  sum- 
mer are  unfavorable  for  the  preservation  of  that  crispness  which  is 
deemed  essential  in  a  first-class  sugar  beet.  All  the  essential  conditions 
of  success  in  its  cultivation  seem  to  be  combined  in  a  large  portion  of 
the  'Alameda  plains'  and  other  level  or  gently  sloping  lands  of  the 
Bay  coast  region,  and  Sacramento  and  Salinas  valleys,  where  the  lighter 
sediment  soils  prevail,  and  where  at  present  cereal  culture,  or  that  of 
fruit,  constitutes  almost  the  only  alternative.  Southern  California,  also, 
has  given  excellent  results  as  regards  both  quality  and  quantity  of  the 
sugar-beet  crop,  in  the  Chino  and  Santa  Ana  regions;  and  Ventura  and 
San  Luis  Obispo  can  with  certainty  count  on  a  similar  outcome.  As  to 
the  San  Joaquin  Valley,  the  sugar  beet  can  probably  be  grown  success- 
fully, without  irrigation,  on  suitable  lands  as  far  south  as  Merced"; 
with  the  development  of  irrigation  systems  the  area  could  be  considerably 
extended. 

The  promise  of  permanence  given  by  this  valuable  industry  makes  ii 
desirable  that  everything  possible  should  be  done  to  safeguard  and 
cherish  it  as  one  of  the  chief  resources  of  California. 


REPORTS  AND  BULLETINS  AVAILABLE  FOR  DISTRIBUTION. 


REPORTS. 


1896.  Report  of  the  Viticultural  Work  during  the  seasons  1887-93,  with  data  regarding 

the  Vintages  of  1894-95. 

1897.  Resistant  Vines,  their  Selection,  xldaptation,  and  Grafting.    Appendix  to  Viti- 

cultural Report  for  1896. 

1898.  Partial  Report  of  Work  of  Agricultural  Experiment  Stations  for  the  years  1895-96 

and  1896-97. 
1900.    Report  of  the  Agricultural  Experiment  Stations  of  the  University  of  California 
for  the  year  1897-98. 


BULLETINS. 

No.  121.  The  Conservation  of  Soil  Moisture  and  Economy  in  the  Use  of  Irrigation  Water. 

125.  Australian  Saltbush. 

127.  Bench-Grafting  Resistant  Vines. 

128.  Nature,  Value,  and  Utilization  of  Alkali  Lands. 

129.  Report  of  the  Condition  of  Olive  Culture  in  California. 

131.  The  Phylloxera  of  the  Vine. 

132.  Feeding  of  Farm  Animals. 

133.  Tolerance  of  Alkali  by  Various  Cultures. 

134.  Report  of  Condition  of  Vineyards  in  Portions  of  Santa  Clara  Valley. 

135.  The  Potato-Worm  in  California. 

136.  Erinose  of  the  Vine. 

137.  Pickling  Ripe  and  Green  Olives. 

138.  Citrus  Fruit  Culture. 

139.  Orange  and  Lemon  Rot. 

140.  Lands  of  the  Colorado  Delta  in  Sal  ton  Basin,  and  Supplement. 

141.  Deciduous  Fruits  at  Paso  Robles. 

142.  Grasshoppers  in  California. 

143.  California  Peach-Tree  Borer. 

144.  The  Peach-Worm. 

145.  The  Red  Spider  of  Citrus  Trees. 

146.  New  Methods  of  Grafting  and  Budding  Vines. 

147.  Culture  Work  of  the  Substations. 

148.  Resistant  Vines  and  their  Hybrids. 

Copies  may  be  had  by  application  to  the  Director  of  the  Experiment 
Station. 


